


Mine

by Gyhl



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Flashbacks abound, M/M, Magic Is a Thing, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Non-Linear Narrative, grimm even, more characters may show up too idk yet, ships are planned but may change/be added to, some grim themes, told in media res
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2020-02-29 07:51:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl/pseuds/Gyhl
Summary: Publicly a tailor shop, Kingsman is actually a group that monitors mythical and supernatural creatures. Recently, Harry has begun to notice discrepancies between what they'resupposedto be doing and what isactuallybeing done.





	1. Chapter 1

01

Kingsman had been tense for weeks. Or maybe _Merlin_ had just been tense.

It had started with Harry having a private meeting with Arthur. Harry had come out from it, acting as chipper as can be, but Merlin had seen his eyes. There had been something icy in his eyes, something calculating. Merlin had known Harry well enough to know the anger that indicated. But Harry hadn’t said a thing about it to him. And Merlin hadn’t asked.

02

Harry and Chester had been close once. Chester had brought Harry into Kingsman; he’d been Harry’s mentor and the two of them had been of similar mind on many things. And then Harry brought in Lee as a potential member.

Chester summed up his view of the lower-class man in four words: “I see nothing worthwhile.”

“He’s _bright_ , Arthur,” Harry said, pointedly.

“I don’t care how intelligent he seems.”

Harry’s lips pressed into a tight line. They both knew he hadn’t been speaking of Lee’s intelligence. It was how he described the sort of people Kingsman kept an eye on. “He’s _going_ to work a case with me.”

Chester scoffed and Lee stepped forward, offering his hand. Chester took it, more out of habit than any real desire to accept Harry’s little experiment.

“Thank you for the opportunity.”

Chester’s eyes glazed over, and then he’d actually smiled at the younger man. “It’s not as if I’m going to allow you in anyway,” he said, cheerfully and almost as if he were unaware of what exactly he was saying.

“Then there’s no harm in my working with Mr. Hart for now, is there?”

“I suppose not.”

Lee let go of Chester’s hand and Harry ushered him out of the office. Harry kept one hand on Lee’s upper arm until they were out of the building and in the car.

“I’d like to know what you did.”

Lee smiled vaguely. “Sir?”

“Don’t ‘sir’ me,” Harry said mildly.

Lee shrugged and leaned back against the seat. “Some people just get chatty around me. Forget their brain-to-mouth filters.”

“You’re bright. You got _brighter_ when you thanked him.”

Lee’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t… follow.”

“It’s how I see things,” Harry explained. “Most things are very… bland. As if the color has been drained out of most things and people. It worried my parents to no small amount, I can tell you. They took me to every specialist they could think of.” He shook his head with a small smile. “But there are people - like you, like the others in Kingsman - who are bright.”

Lee said nothing for a long moment. “Are there others like _you_ in Kingsman?”

Harry shook his head. “No.”

“I can make people be agreeable. It wears off quickly enough, yeah, but…” he shrugged. “He ain’t, exactly, gonna remember how I ended up workin' with you for a bit, but he’ll remember that he agreed to it.”

An amused smile played on Harry’s lips. “Generally, it’s accepted that one does not use their abilities on fellow Kingsman.”

“I ain’t Kingsman,” Lee grinned.

“Not yet,” Harry agreed. 

03

Merlin let himself inside. He didn’t live with Harry, but he had a key and he spent more time at Harry’s home than his own. Harry _had_ asked him - several times, in fact - to move in. Merlin had always just… deflected the request.

“Harry?”

“In the lounge, darling.”

There was a side table in the entry hall. Merlin left his things there, arranging them perhaps a bit more neatly than he would have in his own home. He stepped into the lounge. There was a drink waiting for him on the side table, and Harry was reading something on his mobile. 

“I’m sorry. I know I should have called. Things were… a bit hectic.”

Harry had looked up from his mobile at the apology. “Something you ‘should have known about’, I assume", he said, patting the sofa.

Merlin scoffed a laugh and went over to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Harry took Merlin’s hands as he sat, and wrapped himself up in Merlin’s arms. “You came in here apologizing; that tells me you spent quite a bit of time with Arthur tonight. ‘Hectic’ tends to be your codeword for a problem you believe you caused.”

Merlin opened his mouth to argue that, any of it. Especially the part where he apparently apologized needlessly after spending time with Arthur. But then he just sighed and settled back against the sofa.

“We had a few escapes from the Vault, due to security measures that hadn’t been properly upgraded.”

Harry sat forward and looked at Merlin. “Security measures that _you_ didn’t upgrade properly?”

“Yes.”

Harry picked up the drink and handed it to him. “I believe the phrase is ‘that sounds fake, but okay’.”

Merlin took the drink from him and rolled his eyes. “I’m quite capable of making mistakes, Harry.”

“Mistakes are one thing,” he said as he settled back against Merlin. “But improperly upgrading security in multiple cells, not noticing that once you’ve checked it over, and then not noticing _again_ when you decide to use them? You are _incapable_ of that level of incompetence.”

“Harry…” He sighed. “The only alternative is that they were _intentionally_ released. Arthur and I are the only ones with that authorization.”

Harry clucked his tongue. “So either you’re incompetent or Arthur’s misusing his power. What a difficult choice.”

“Harry.”

“What escaped?”

“A wight and two sirens.”

“Let me know if there are any sightings?”

Merlin shook his head. “You _really_ think Arthur would abuse his power?”

Harry sighed. “I’ve lost a lot of faith in him recently.”

“Oh, aye? Hadn’t noticed.”

Harry offered him a wry smile. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t be trying to involve you. I know how deeply your loyalty to him runs.”

Merlin laughed softly. “I would think, my heart, you would know to which of you I am more loyal.”

“Mm, but these are two different… types of loyalty, if you will.”

Merlin said nothing for a moment. He understood what Harry meant, what Harry saw. He sighed. “Tell me? I’d-” His mobile beeped. He read the message, frowned at it, and replied before continuing. “I’d like to know whatever it was.”

Harry didn’t ask after the message. It wasn’t unusual for Merlin to receive messages from other agents at practically all hours. “Do you remember, oh, two months ago now, there was that incident we thought was a poltergeist?”

Merlin nodded. He remembered it well enough. A young, telekinetic woman had been in a car accident, and it had triggered the latent ability in her. Harry had called her ‘colorful’ but not ‘bright’. While Merlin wasn’t certain what the visual difference was to Harry, he knew what it meant. ‘Brights’ generally weren’t human. There had been two ‘brights’ that Merlin had known of who were, technically, human. ‘Colorfuls’ _were_ human, but there were enough traces of their non-human ancestry to make them something more than just human.

“Once she was calm, once I managed to make her listen, I gave her the contact information for one of the specialists.”

Merlin nodded again. He could have told Harry to stop there. He knew what was coming. He’d known before Harry had started looking into it.

“I decided to follow up on her, to see how she was doing.” Harry paused. “She’s missing, Merlin. She disappeared less than a week after we’d been there.”

“Harry…”

“So I started checking in with _others_ I’d met with. Not all of them have disappeared, but many of them have. And they’re all the ones I send to two specific specialists.”

Merlin was silent for a moment. “What do you believe?”

Harry shook his head. “Arthur had… _something_ to do with it.” He paused. “We’re supposed to be _protecting_ people. The ones who are dangerous, _they’re_ the ones we make disappear, not…”

“Maybe Arthur thinks he _is_ protecting people.”

Harry pulled away from him. “Is that what he says?”

Merlin shook his head. “Harry… I’m not saying that you’re right. I’m just saying, _if_ you’re right, maybe Arthur is just-”

“He wouldn’t let me down into the Vault, Merlin. He’s hiding something.”

Merlin watched Harry for a moment before shaking his head. “Maybe. I can’t say.” He cupped Harry’s cheek in his hand. “Why don’t… we distract you from this, hm?”

Harry rose his brow skeptically but a slow grin formed anyway. “I had no idea you found my complaining about Arthur to be _erotic_.”

Merlin snorted a laugh. “It was _hardly_ that.”

He stood and held his hand out to Harry. Harry took it and let himself be led toward the stairs. They were just about to start up them when Harry stopped, his head turning toward the entry hall. He’d just barely heard the knock.

“Whoever could be knocking at this hour?”

Merlin frowned slightly. “Whoever it is, it can _wait_ until morning, Harry. Let’s go to bed.”

Harry shook his head and pulled his hand out of Merlin’s grip. “People don’t come to the door in the middle of the night for reasons that can generally wait.”

Merlin followed Harry, staying back in the entry hall. He wanted to tell Harry to just go with him, to forget the door and everything behind it. But he knew if he protested further it would just pique Harry’s curiosity.

Harry looked through the spyhole and then opened the door. “James. What can I do for you?”

Lancelot offered him a wan smile. “I’d ask to borrow a cup of sugar, but no one ever believes that’s what I want.”

“Because it never is,” Harry said as he stepped back. “Come in.”

“I hope you’ll forgive the late hour. I saw the light and it couldn’t wait until morning.” He stepped inside and paused at seeing Merlin. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

It was Merlin’s turn to offer a wan smile. “That was intentional.”

Harry looked from Lancelot to Merlin. He realized that was who Merlin had texted earlier. And that this was why Merlin had been suddenly so interested in going up to bed. He wondered how much of a mistake it had been to tell Merlin about his concerns; how much had that sealed this for him, for them.

“Well,” he said with false cheerfulness, “shall I ask what you needed, James, or shall we just… skip the charade entirely?”

Lancelot and Merlin eyed each other for what felt like several long moments before the former looked at Harry again. “You’ve become a liability.”

“And so, Arthur has given you orders to kill me, am I right?”

Lancelot nodded and took out his sidearm, aiming it at Harry.

Harry looked at Merlin. “And you’re his _backup_ , hm.”

Merlin looked away from him. He couldn’t just _tell_ Harry that he’d been trying to stop this, or at least delay it long enough to… to _try_ and do something about it. “Harry’s from too public of a family for him to just disappear.”

“Yes, that was Arthur’s thought as well. He felt dressing it up to look like a home invasion gone poorly would be best.” He nodded toward the lounge door. “In there, if you please, Harry.”

Merlin went in first. Harry followed, pausing at the doorway long enough to glower at him, before moving into the room proper. As Lancelot passed into the room, Merlin took out a handgun of his own and held it on him.

“Well, this is a twist,” Lancelot said dryly. “Since when do _you_ carry a gun?”

“Since about a week ago. Signed it out from the armory under Harry’s name. I knew Arthur would give _someone_ the order, but I couldn’t be certain who.” He tipped his head in a half-shrug. “Or what. But, if I’ve learned nothing else over the years, a shot to the head will stop _most_ things.”

“And here I thought you were actually loyal to Arthur.” Lancelot lowered his gun and let Harry take it from him. “I am… open to suggestions.”

“Suggestion,” Merlin began. “Harry isn’t a fucking moron. He knew Arthur would try something. He caught you off guard.”

“Then I would suggest firing,” Lancelot said calmly. “Arthur _will_ know if I’m still alive.”

“How?” Harry asked.

“Binding spell. Chester might not have a lot of magic, but he is _quite_ adept with what he has.”

Merlin studied him for a moment and then lowered the gun partway. “You’re saying you don’t have a choice.”

Lancelot shot him a sour look. “That is the general implication of a binding spell, yes.”

“I think the best option might actually be for _me_ to… ‘die’,” Harry said.

They both looked at him. Harry was amused at the near identical expressions of shock and anger on their faces. He wondered if Merlin might be under some sort of binding spell. It would explain his obedience, even if Merlin wasn’t exactly loyal.

“He can’t track _me_ the way he can track James, am I correct?”

Merlin nodded slowly. “As far as I’m aware, yes.”

“Alright, then James returns to Kingsman in the morning with the claim that he’s killed me. I’ll slip out through the guest room window after you leave. It’s the only window in the house in a camera blindspot. I can get into an alleyway without leaving the blindspot. From there, I can get to Kingsman.”

Merlin holstered his weapon. “I can loop the security footage, that won’t be a problem. Chester won’t see you coming.”

“Arthur kept this quiet. Once Harry’s in, there’s… no reason he can’t walk straight to him. And as Merlin said,” Lancelot smiled thinly. “A shot to the head _will_ stop most things.”

04

Lancelot rapped twice on the door before letting himself into Arthur’s office. He could feel his heart hammering. He’d never given Arthur reason to doubt his control, but he was also _quite_ aware that he could be forced to tell Arthur that Harry wasn’t actually dead.

“Report.”

“Threat has been neutralized, sir.”

Arthur nodded. “Good. Say nothing, and when he fails to appear today, let someone else try to contact him.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll make the announcement after the official word comes down.” Arthur sat back and looked up at Lancelot. “I will be expecting you and Percival to bring me a proposal for his position.”

Lancelot stiffened. “Sir?”

“I think his daughter would be a good candidate.”

Lancelot shook his head in disbelief. “I beg your pardon? You expect us to, what, bring you Roxanne?”

Arthur smiled coolly. “ _Your_ daughter is, what, 24? 25? I think she’s quite lovely, for someone like you, of course. You see, I’ve kept tabs on where your family is. They spent the first four years hiding, the way you undoubtedly instructed them to, but after that, they relaxed.”

“Sir…”

“I know their routines and hiding places better than you do. I could have the entire-” he waved a hand “-whatever you call a group of yourselves… wiped out.”

“Arthur, please…”

“I would, of course, have your daughter spared. As your proposal.”

Lancelot lowered his head and shook it. “That isn’t necessary, sir. I’ll.” He swallowed, hard. “I’ll speak with Percival. About Roxanne.”

“Good man. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you,” he turned to go and then looked back. “Sir, about my family…”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to use them like this. You.” He worked his jaw. “You’ve already got the binding spell.”

Arthur chuckled. “Oh, I know. I _could_ just tell you to do it. I _could_ just let you go about your duties on little more than autopilot. I _could_ , certainly, but then I’ve always found a touch of a personal stake always keeps one lively.”

Lancelot’s face twisted with anger, but he bit it back and nodded. “Of course, sir.”

He left Arthur’s office, breathing hard and trying to keep his emotions in check. He hadn’t realized Arthur had _kept tabs on his chorus_. If Harry went after Arthur and failed, then _his family_ was going to pay for it. He went to find Percival. He might not know where they were, and he might not live long enough to warn them, but Percival might be able to.

He knew he ought to stay and try to help Harry, if he could, but all he could see were his daughter’s eyes. She’d been ten the last time he’d seen her, and she hadn’t yet been able to change form. Her scales had been mottled red and brown, and the coloration had continued into the tendrils on her head. She hadn’t understood why they had to go into hiding. She hadn’t understood why he couldn’t go with them. Did she understand now? Or had she grown up believing he’d just abandoned them all?

He found Percival in the shooting range. He waited until Percival was done with his target before approaching. “I need a word with him, if you don’t mind.”

The spotter nodded. “Of course.”

Lancelot watched the spotter leave and then just stared after him. He hadn’t realized how much time had passed when he felt Percival’s hand on his arm. He looked at the hand, and then at Percival. All the fight went out of him and he lowered his head. 

“Chester wants Roxy now.”

“Shit.”

“I fucked up,” he said with a shaky laugh.

“How so?”

“I deliberately disobeyed and he’s about to find out.”

Percival sighed quietly. “James…”

“He knows where my family is.”

Percival hissed an oath. “Alright. Tell me what you want to do.”

“If I can get into his files… can your sister…?”

He nodded. “She can get a message to them. But… how are you planning on getting _into_ his files? Merlin will have them locked up tighter than-”

“I can get around Merlin’s lockouts. I, I think so, anyway.”

Percival’s brow rose but he didn’t ask _how_ Lancelot was planning on that. “You realize it might be, mm, _simpler_ to convince Galahad - or someone like him - to just… kill Arthur.”

Lancelot laughed bitterly. “I believe we’re a day late on that idea.”

Percival stiffened. “How so?”

“That’s where I went last night. He sent me to kill Harry.” Lancelot watched as the pieces came together in Percival’s mind. “On a side note… I’m fairly certain Harry and Merlin _are_ sleeping together.”

“Does _Arthur_ know Merlin is sleeping with Harry?”

Lancelot shook his head. “I don’t know. Merlin…” He looked around and then leaned close to Percival. “Merlin tried to stop me. He was ready to kill me to keep Harry safe. As long as-” His mobile chimed and he looked at it. “Oh, fuck.”

“What?”

“Message from Arthur. ‘He’s dead. I want a word, now.’”

Percival lowered his head for a moment and sighed. “I’ll leave and get Roxy. Maybe if I can get her back here quickly enough, maybe we can convince him to leave your family alone.”

“I hope so.”

05

Harry watched as Lancelot left Arthur’s office. Lancelot was bright, more so than usual. His eyes were shifting to red, and Harry was certain Lancelot was close to losing control. Most agents weren’t human, and James had been introduced to him as a siren. He wondered idly what it would be like if James _did_ lose control of his emotions. Would the non-human agents be affected? How badly would _he_?

Harry knew he was, perhaps, the most human of the agents. He couldn’t even rightly say _what_ he had in his lineage that made him see things the way he did. His parents certainly couldn’t have answered that; they’d adopted him as a baby. Whatever it was that made him see the way he did, that was _all_ he’d gotten from it.

It _was_ useful, though. People who were brighter were more powerful; people who were more colorful were more human. He couldn’t really explain where the line was, what the difference was between the two, but he knew it when he saw it. There was the occasional blurring of the lines. Chester, for one, was very bright, but Harry knew he was mostly human. He just happened to be from a fairly powerful fae line and that resonated inside of whatever made Harry see the way he did. Right now, he hoped it would be more use to him than Chester’s limited magical ability.

Not for the first time, he really wished Lee had become an agent. Lee had been one of the few people Harry had known to be capable of affecting Chester. Harry had never learned _what_ Lee was, not beyond Lee being some type of powerful fae. Lee would have been able to walk in to Chester’s office and defuse this quite easily.

It wasn’t even that Harry was afraid to die or afraid of what abilities Chester might be hiding. Chester had been his _mentor_. Chester had brought him to Kingsman. He’d helped him learn how to understand the difference between bright ones and colorful ones, even if Chester, himself, didn’t see the colors the way he did. Chester had made him most of what he was now. It couldn’t have been harder if his own father had been behind the door.

He sighed and rapped on the office door three times, in quick succession. Merlin had announced himself in such a manner as long as Harry had known him. He was pleased when he heard Arthur call from inside.

“It’s unlocked, Merlin.”

Harry opened the door and let himself in. He saw the momentary surprise on Arthur’s face, followed by some relative of anger, and then the calm, gentlemanly veneer. He had to wonder how long he’d been fooled by that veneer; how long had his rather romantic view of his job clouded him to what he should have seen?

“Terribly sorry to disappoint you, Arthur.”

“Disappoint me? Harry! I’m always-”

“Let’s dispense with the bullshit, please. You sent Lancelot to kill me last night. Let’s not pretend we’re _happy_ to see each other.”

Arthur’s lips pursed. “How _did_ you get away?”

Harry chuckled mirthlessly. “I don’t believe I’m going to tell you that.”

“Oh, Harry,” Arthur said with paternal disappointment, “you aren’t _really_ trying to protect these creatures, are you? You _do_ realize they don’t feel human emotions?”

“To be honest, I wonder that about you from time to time.”

“You only wonder that because they _look_ human, therefore you consider them to be human.” Arthur stood and walked over to Harry. “Do you… do you actually think you and James have ever been friends? You _do_ realize things like him eat human flesh, yes? You aren’t a _friend_ in his eyes; you’re a _meal_ he isn’t allowed to eat.”

Harry scoffed. “So I should be thanking you for putting that spell on him?”

“Quite so,” Arthur nodded. “And Merlin? I hope you don’t really believe he loves you.” He offered Harry a paternal smile. “I know you two have been ‘shacking up’, as they say, but - and I _am_ sorry to admit this - I put him up to it.”

“What?”

“I have a similar method of controlling him. I knew you weren’t happy, and that you were… wanting… a very particular sort of companionship. And I was quite aware that you fancied him.”

Harry stared at him for a moment, shaking his head just a bit. “You… _forced him_ … to be with me?”

“My dear boy, you are _again_ ascribing human emotions to something that doesn’t _have_ them.” Arthur shook his head. “If it were up to Merlin, he’d be living in a puddle like the rest of his kind.”

The room felt too small, too cramped. Harry didn’t even realize he was backing away from Arthur until he felt the door behind him. He was breathing hard and couldn’t catch his breath, as if he were somewhere up where the oxygen was thinner.

“All those years, and he let you go right on believing he was human, didn’t he? He just let you believe he was like me, a so-called ‘bright’ human.”

“He had no… reason to tell me. Not with you… forcing him… to be with me.”

Arthur made a sound of agreement. “I suppose not.”

Harry forced himself to look at Arthur. His mentor was _bright_. So very bright. Harry started laughing softly. “I never… realized.”

“Mm?”

The words were lost inside the oxygen deprived fog of Harry’s mind. He’d never realized the sort of magic Chester had been sitting on. He knew Chester was making him feel as if the room was small. He knew Chester was making him _think_ that he simply couldn’t catch his breath. But even as the room started to turn grey around him, he knew he wasn’t imagining being unable to breathe.

Harry fumbled to get his suit coat open. He very distantly heard Chester chuckle. Chester was the only thing in the room still in color. Harry wasn’t sure how much of that was Chester’s doing, and how much was his vision. He felt the gun in the holster under his coat. It felt so heavy, so very heavy, and it took forever to pull it free and aim it at his mentor. He wasn’t certain that he actually had the weapon aimed at Chester. He wasn’t certain until the previously unseen hands loosened from around his neck and the older man fell, clutching a blossoming red stain on his shirt.

Harry leaned back against the door and slid to the floor. He rubbed at his neck as what color he normally saw came back into the world. He looked at Chester and sighed. The older man was now duller than the rest of the room. He knew, given twenty or thirty minutes, Chester’s body would almost fade from view to him, the way the dead always did for him. 

Once he had his breath again, he pulled himself to his feet and went to Arthur’s desk. He rifled through some of Arthur’s papers, but saw nothing of interest. Not beyond what they were actually supposed to be doing. He picked up Arthur’s mobile and messaged Lancelot before leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. 

06

“Oh, for _fuck’s_ sake!”

Merlin had turned one of the guestrooms into an off-hours office for himself. He spent more time at Harry’s house than he did at his own home, so it only made sense for Merlin to have a workspace. Harry, who had been in his own office just across the hall, had no problem hearing Merlin’s annoyed yell.

It was only a moment before Merlin appeared in the doorway, holding one of his laserdisc cases. He had been adamant for the last five or six years that they were going to replace VHS cassettes. His collection of them had been slowly migrating into the office.

“Henry.” His voice was a low growl.

Harry grinned and leaned forward on his desk. The only ones who ever called him _that_ were his family and friends thereof. “If I told you _just_ the effect that was having on me, would you _still_ be angry?”

Merlin sighed through his nose. “I’m not _angry_. I’m _annoyed_.”

Harry chuckled. “But ‘annoyed sex’ just doesn’t have the same feeling to it that ‘angry sex’ does, and… if you’re going to continue speaking in that tone…”

Merlin shook his head. “Oh, no, not until yeh fix this.”

“Considering I don’t know what you’re talking about, that _could_ be awhile.”

“I went to put a movie on, for noise while I work. _Imagine_ my surprise when I saw the disc doesn’t match the case. I looked in this disc’s case, and it’s _another_ disc.”

Harry started laughing. “Well, I didn’t _do_ it, but I may have… _caused_ it.”

“Oh?”

“I… left Lee here for a couple hours while I dealt with a case he couldn’t be involved in.”

Merlin’s brow rose. “I thought I warned you _against_ leaving him to his own devices.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, well, I didn’t leave him as well occupied as I thought I had.”

Merlin shook his head. Lee was the sort of fae who, if kept sufficiently occupied, could ignore the call to mischief. The ones he’d known of like that were intelligent, and Lee had proved no exception to that.

“Well, nothing doing, I guess. There’s no point in pulling him from his family just to… fix this.”

Harry shrugged. “Lee doesn’t have family.”

Merlin eyed him for a moment. “No? I thought I heard him mention a child?”

Harry nodded. “He had a girlfriend, and she ended up pregnant. They had a falling out.”

“Hm. Was she human?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. I assume she wasn’t; he wasn’t willing to tell me much about her.”

“Protective.”

Harry stood and went over to Merlin. He took the movie away from him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I don’t blame him.” He went into Merlin’s office and started getting into his movie library.

“What’re you doing?”

“Putting them right for you.”

Merlin shook his head and went to join him.

“No. You were trying to work. You do that, I’ll do this.” He heard Merlin start to protest and pointed at Merlin’s computer. “Work.”

Merlin watched him for a moment, a small smile on his lips. Harry could be stubborn, sarcastic, a right pain in the arse… but he was thoughtful, and generous, and much _kinder_ than Merlin had expected in the beginning.

Harry had always been, well, obvious, and enthusiastic when he wanted something. Merlin had been very aware that Harry fancied him. But he hadn’t done anything to encourage Harry, and Harry had backed off. Merlin had never been certain if he _would_ have responded to Harry or not. After Chester had bound him, he’d decided against relationships. They could… become a problem.

Chester had called him into his office three days after becoming Arthur. Merlin had expected it to be the usual sort of thing, but Chester had invited him to take a seat. “I’m certain you’re aware that Galahad is interested in you.”

Merlin’s lips had pursed and he’d looked away. “Yes, sir.”

“You’re going to be interested in return.”

Merlin’s look had turned sour. “Oh, am I now?”

Chester had smiled. It could almost have be mistaken for mirth. Almost. “I think we both know you will, because you know perfectly well that I could just… destroy it.”

Merlin had rolled his eyes. “It’s no’ that easy.”

“No, unless one knows _how_.”

Merlin had stiffened and then searched Chester’s face. He didn’t have to. They both knew Chester was in a position where he didn’t _need_ to bluff Merlin into doing what he wanted.

“I understand it’s a terrible sort of death for your kind.”

“I’ll…” Merlin had cleared his throat. He hated the fucker, but the fucker was right. “I’ll go and… make myself available to Galahad. Sir.”

He’d gotten Harry’s address out of his file and had showed up at his house that night. Harry had been surprised, but delighted. Merlin had been tense, and Harry had picked up on it. Harry had been the perfect host, taking care of his needs without complaint and trying to make him relax.

He’d only been there for an hour when Harry stopped, mid-sentence, and had gotten an odd look in his eye. Merlin had assumed that this was where the… pleasantness… ended, but then Harry had become so very concerned.

“Oh, good Lord, you don’t even _want_ to be here, do you?”

Merlin had stiffened. “It’s not that, sir, I-”

“I should have realized. Of course.” Harry had sighed and shook his head. “I am… so very sorry. I simply didn’t think.”

“You didn’t… think…?”

“Well, there’s my friendship with Chester, the obvious differences in our classes. And then there’s our positions in Kingsman, itself. I’m an agent and you’re staff.” Harry had offered him a gentle smile. “I wasn’t going to make things difficult for you at Kingsman just because you weren’t interested.”

Merlin had just stared at him for a minute. He had expected a _lot_ of things, but not for Harry to be in the dark about Chester’s order. “If you wanted, sir-”

“No.” He had shaken his head. “If you can relax around me enough to call me ‘Harry’, we can revisit this then. I _can_ be just colleagues, or even friends, with someone I’m interested in, you know.”

Merlin had needed to take a step back at that point and figure out how to ‘relax’ around Harry enough to convince him that yes, he actually _was_ interested. He’d had to learn about Harry, learn about his interests. By the time he’d managed to convince Harry to go on a date with him, he’d actually _wanted_ to go and he’d actually enjoyed himself

That was something he had never told Chester. There had been other orders about Harry over the years, mainly to ensure he was kept in the dark about Chester’s activities and to keep him loyal to his mentor. He could never tell Harry what Chester had ordered, and it was why he never corrected Harry about his own heritage. It would bring up too many questions.

“You’re staring.”

Merlin grinned. He’d been so deep in the past that he had, indeed, been staring at Harry. He went to his human and wrapped his arms around him from behind. He lay his chin on Harry’s shoulder. “I hope you know,” he said quietly, “how very much I love you.”

Harry chuckled. “I would hope you do.”

“I’m serious.”

Harry put the disc he was holding back in the case he’d gotten it from and leaned back against Merlin’s chest. “What brought this up?”

“Just… thinking about things.”

“Oh?”

“Mm. About you. About me.” He kissed Harry’s temple and stepped back, leading him toward the door. “About how this all can wait.”

07

Lancelot let himself into Arthur’s office without knocking. His eyes didn’t even focus on the body on the floor. He was so certain that it was Harry dead and Arthur in the chair that he actually _saw_ that for a moment.

“Sir, I can explain, just let me-”

“James,” Harry said without opening his eyes. “Calm down.”

Lancelot stared at Harry for a moment, blinking hard to make himself see what he was actually seeing. “ _Harry_. I saw the text and I just…”

Harry opened his eyes and stared at Lancelot for a moment. “I... messaged you from Arthur’s mobile,” he said, understanding Lancelot’s panic. “My apologies, James.”

Lancelot shook his head. “No, I.” He looked down at Arthur’s body and laughed softly. “Oh, fuck,” he sighed. “You actually killed him.”

“He left me no choice.” He stood and went over to Lancelot. “Are you…? I don’t know how the binding spell he used worked.”

Lancelot smiled grimly. “The binding isn’t to Chester, exactly. It is to whomsoever carries the mantle of Arthur.”

Harry smiled a little and tipped his head slightly. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“There’s an area of the Vault that only Arthur has authorization to access. All of Chester’s… mm, shall we say ‘private’ dealings are in there. It is bound to the room and whoever unlocks it. So. It is to Arthur and not Chester.”

Harry sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He _really_ wanted to say that whoever the next Arthur was would be _of a decent sort_ , and that they would actually work for what Kingsman was supposed to stand for.

But.

 _But_.

He’d always believed Chester to _be_ of a decent sort. How was he supposed to leave James, Merlin, and whoever else Chester might have bound to the uncertain care of… whoever came next?

“Do you suppose it matters how long someone is going to be Arthur for?”

Lancelot shook his head. “I’ve no idea. Why do you ask?”

Harry held up a finger, turned away from Lancelot and Chester’s corpse, and activated his glasses. He smiled after a moment. “Yes, I know, it’s a rare pleasure. We need to have the board assembled.” He nodded. “Yes, I _would_ normally bring this to Arthur and have _him_ call for the assembly, but that _is_ the issue. Arthur has, quite suddenly, passed.” He paused, his smile twisting wryly. “Oh, it was a sudden thing. He tried to kill me, you see, and I objected.” He nodded. “I can absolutely be there in ten minutes. Thank you.”

Lancelot waited until he was certain Harry’s feed was off. “You’re going to try and convince them to name you Arthur.”

Harry shook his head. “Not permanently, just for the interim until they appoint a new Arthur. They would grant me authorization as Arthur for the time being. It would be enough to get me into Arthur’s area of the Vault.”

Lancelot nodded and was silent for a moment. “You _do_ know I’m not the only one?”

“Yes. But unless you have a full list, for the time being, I’m going to concentrate on you and Merlin.”

“That wasn’t my concern, actually.”

“You’re concerned with whether or not I’ll tell the board what Chester was doing.” Harry nodded. “I’ll decide when I see them.”

Lancelot nodded. “While you’re doing that, I’m going to see what I can learn on Arthur’s computer.” He offered Harry a slight shrug. “I doubt he’ll have anything helpful for you, not in such an obvious place, but I’m hopeful that he’ll have... something _I_ need.”

Harry put a hand on Lancelot’s shoulder for a moment and left him alone in the office.

08

He went to the boardroom. It wasn’t often used; most things simply went as far as Arthur. The last time Harry had spoken to the board was after the incident which killed Lee. Now he wondered how much of that meeting Arthur had controlled.

He didn’t have long to dwell on it before five men joined him. Two of them looked human, although they were so very bright to Harry. Harry knew they were the youngest members of the board and were actually not much older than he was. One of the other three was still sporting scales instead of skin. That one had dragon in his family, and very close. He found it difficult to manage a human form and often didn’t try beyond what he had for the meeting. He had a dragon’s knack for managing a horde, and thus, their armory had been made into his horde. The next was some variety of woodland fae. He was about as showy as Harry, himself, and so, not only would his skin and hair change to reflect the seasons, but what he wore would reflect the flora of the season.

The last, now, Harry had never actually seen, despite having been in the room with him twice, that he knew of. He had been one of the founding members of Kingsman. An accident - at least, that was the claim - had left him a member of the undead. There was something about the dead - magical or otherwise - that Harry’s brain simply refused to see. If he stared at something he knew was there long enough, his brain would, eventually, stop automatically filtering it out. For whatever reason, it didn’t work on the knight. The only time he became anything close to visible for Harry was when he manipulated something, like pulling out his chair before sitting. Then Harry saw almost a blur where he knew the knight should be.

“We’re here at the request of Galahad, concerning an interim replacement for Arthur,” the undead knight drawled. “We’ve agreed to hear his request, despite having never taken more than a week to appoint a new Arthur nor ever having _needed_ an interim.”

“I’m glad we’re starting off with an open mind.” Harry couldn’t see it, but he had a strong suspicion the knight was glowering at him.

“You said it was self-defense. Killing Arthur.”

Harry nodded at the dragon. “Yes, Erec. As I said, he tried to kill me and I objected.”

Erec looked down at the table, shifted uncomfortably, and looked at the others on the board before returning his attention to Harry. “Then why’d you sign out a gun?”

Harry smiled faintly. “If you’re trying to call this premeditation, I suppose I ought to remind you that I keep a weapon on me. We _all_ do.” He paused. “With the exception of Merlin, that is. Merlin, who signed the weapon out.”

“That goes against protocol,” the undead knight snapped.

Erec looked as thought he wanted to disappear. “Yes, well… you see....”

“If I may?” Harry interrupted. “Did he, perhaps, say this was something he was doing on Arthur’s orders?”

Erec shifted again. “He. Might. Have.”

Harry eyed Erec for a moment before looking over the other three he could see. “Let me be blunt for a moment, if I may. How many of you are under Arthur’s control?”

“I beg your pardon.”

Harry waved off the undead knight. “I’m not including _you_ in this, Geraint. Just the other four. Whoever becomes Arthur next is going to inherit his control. I know two people who _are_ under Arthur’s control, I suspect five or six more. And that… is just what I’ve learned in the past twenty-four hours.”

“Who are they?”

Harry looked at the woodland knight. “At least three of you, and two specialists. The two I’m certain of are Merlin and Lancelot.”

“And what do you plan to do about it?”

Harry smiled wanly. “Last I checked, keeping people essentially enslaved is not in our mission statement.”

One of the younger two cast a glance at the undead knight and bit down on a laugh. Harry had the distinct impression he was, again, being glared at by him. 

“And you believe that the next appointed Arthur will not do this?”

“The last appointed Arthur _did_ this. Arthur has authority above the board; the interim, if appointed, does not, correct?”

“That _is_ correct, yes.” Geraint paused. “Then you will have no problem with total transparency in this regard?”

“None, and considering some of you are under Arthur’s control, it seems only natural for that transparency.”

Geraint sighed, although it sounded almost like a growl. “Why are you so certain that some of us are bound?”

Harry nodded toward Erec. “He is. I assume Chester left a standing order with you to report if Merlin sighed a weapon out for himself.”

Erec looked away but didn’t deny it.

“And then, when he signed one out for _me_ , I suppose he said it was on Chester’s orders, and perhaps threatened to involve him.”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“That would have meant trouble for you.”

“Yes.”

Harry waved a hand toward Erec. “You see? Now, who else?”

One of the younger ones and the woodland fae exchanged a glance before nodding. The last of them looked from knight to knight before laughing and shaking his head.

“Here I thought I was the only one.”

“I’ve no doubt he kept most of you in the dark about this. Merlin didn’t know Lancelot was bound, nor did Lancelot know about Merlin. One would think if there had been anyone who knew about others, it would have been Merlin. Clearly, he only knew a few.”

There was silence for several long moments before Geraint spoke again. “Erec?”

“Yes.”

“Morholt?”

The woodland fae nodded. “Yes.”

“Tor?”

“Yes.”

“Pelleas?”

“Yes.”

Geraint was quiet for a moment and huffed. “Well, a clear majority, so my vote would hardly matter.”

“With respect,” Harry began, “it _is_ proper protocol for you to cast your vote, even if there is already a clear majority. Enough has happened recently that I am… unwilling to proceed without it.”

“I’m surprised, Galahad. You’ve never struck me as the sort.”

Harry let out a mirthless chuckle. “Yes, well, it isn’t everyday that my friend and mentor tries to execute me for being a liability to his Machiavellian plot and I learn of the different ways he’s subverted the organization I’ve given my life to. Even I have my limits, sir.”

“Hm.” Geraint was silent a moment. “Very well. Then you have my ascent, as well. As part of your transparency, I want updates as you proceed; when you find the spell components, when you make headway, when you manage to free someone.”

Harry nodded. “Of course.” He rose. “If you’ll transfer my authorizations, I’ll get started.”

Pelleas started tapping into his tablet. After a moment, the other four board members tablets chimed and they tapped on it.

“Your authorization as Galahad is, for the time being, inactive. You are active as Arthur.”

Harry did his best not to grin. They were words he’d wanted to hear since he’d been a much younger man, even if it was only temporary. Even if it was just because someone needed to do the right thing and he wasn’t willing to trust anyone else.

“Gentlemen,” he nodded to them and left. He activated his glasses once he was out of the boardroom. “Lancelot, could you meet me at the Vault?”

“Of course, sir.” 

09

Harry went down to the Vault and arrived only a few moments before Lancelot did. He could see a certain unnatural stiffness in Lancelot’s posture. He understood well enough; he was Arthur now. It had to be unnerving, to say the least, to for Lancelot to know that Harry now had Chester’s control over him.

“Do you know what Chester used in his spell? He asked as he called for the lift.

“Yes, sir. A bracelet.”

Harry nodded. “I’ll need your help to find it, assuming you don’t mind helping.”

“Of course not, sir.”

Harry smiled gently as the doors opened. “You’re allowed to relax, Lancelot, although I do understand why you might not be able to.”

“I hope you realize that this isn’t coming from a lack of trust toward you.”

Harry waved the concern off. “Honestly, I’d be concerned if you _were_ at ease.”

They rode down in silence. Arthur’s section of the Vault was in the very bottom level. They passed by several siderooms on their way to it. These were the cells of the worst threats Kingsman had ever found. Harry had to wonder just how dangerous they were; just how many of them deserved their imprisonment.

They arrived at the door and Harry keyed in his authorization. It then asked for identity verification with a hand scan and a retina scan. Harry had to wonder if the board knew about these additions to Arthur’s private vault.

They entered and Harry hissed in a breath. There was shelf after shelf of varying trinkets, and Harry had no idea how many of them were binding spells and how many were… something else entirely. There were files and things that Harry assumed were taxidermied creatures. He could see their mounts, but the creatures themselves were too faded for him to see.

They went deeper into the private vault and found a pair of heavy iron doors. They exchanged a look before opening one. It was empty inside, but it was clearly a prison cell. Harry took a breath before opening the other one. It… was _not_ empty.

A man was inside, huddled on the floor. His hair was made from leaves and his skin had been green the last time Harry had seen him. And that had been two months ago. Right now, his skin was yellow and the leaves of his hair were limp. He was the only male dryad Harry had ever heard of, and he’d been locked inside of a darkened prison cell. 

“Bedivere,” Harry said softly. 

“I thought he’d gone on some sabbatical.”

The agent looked up at them. “Please… tell Arthur I yield. Whatever he wants… I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”

Harry bristled and then choked it down. “It’s alright,” he said softly. “Chester is dead. For the time being, _I’m_ Arthur.”

He helped the dryad to his feet and out of the cell. James had… left, and Harry wasn’t certain where he’d gone off to. He led Bedivere to a chair and helped him into it. The agent seemed so agitated - not that Harry blamed him. A moment later, James reappeared with a bowl of water. Bedivere put his hands in the bowl with a shaky sigh. Harry could see the water level going down.

“Thank you.”

Harry watched him quietly for a moment before speaking. “Did Chester… do anything to your tree?”

Bedivere nodded. “He took a cutting from it and destroyed the rest. It’s… down here, I think. It was.”

Harry looked at James; James nodded and went to find it. “And that’s when he locked you in that cell?”

“Yes. He-” He sighed and lowered his head. “I’m not certain _you_ would believe me.”

Harry smiled wanly. “He attempted to bind you magically? I assume, from the cell and his destroying most of your tree, he failed at it?”

Bedivere looked up at him. “You…” He shook his head. “I, I…”

“Lancelot, Merlin… most of the board… likely others.” Harry nodded and sighed. “I have been made aware of some of Chester’s dealings, and recently.”

James returned with what appeared to be little more than a flowering plant. It had green shoots and small, yellow flowers. Bedivere started shaking at the sight of it. James looked to Harry before handing it over to him. The dryad cradled it to himself.

“Scotch Broom is hardly a _tree_ ,” Harry said after a moment. “I thought all dryads were bound to oak trees.”

“We _also_ thought all dryads were female,” Lancelot said.

“Mm, fair enough.” Harry looked Bedivere over. “If you’d like to… take that somewhere, plant it in the wild…”

“You’d let me leave…?”

Harry smiled slightly in an attempt to be reassuring. “Go. It’s alright.”

He watched the agent leave, very aware that they’d never see him again. But that was fine. However dangerous the agent might or might not be didn’t matter. Harry highly doubted the dryad would seek out humans again for a long time.

“Lancelot, if you wouldn’t mind, could you find your bracelet for me while I update the board?”

“Of course, sir.”

He contacted them and told them of his discovery - and subsequent release - of Bedivere. Once he was finished updating them, he went back and looked at the cell which had been vacant. It was a lot smaller than the one Bedivere had been in. There would be room to stand or to kneel, but not to lay down or really sit comfortably. Looking over it further, he realized the top of the cell could be lowered.

“What in Hell did he have in here…?”

“It’s a good question, sir.”

He looked over his shoulder. Lancelot was standing a respectful distance away and holding a bracelet in his hand. It was small, almost delicate looking, and had pearls spread out across it. The links between the pearls looked almost like crystalized seaweed.

“It’s a pledge bracelet,” he said quietly. “Given to me by my wife.”

Harry eyed him for a moment. “I hadn’t realized you were married.”

Lancelot nodded. “We have a daughter. I haven’t… seen either of them since joining Kingsman.”

Harry frowned. “Let’s change that, then, shall we?” He eyed the bracelet. “Do you have… any idea how to break spells?”

Lancelot’s hand tightened on the bracelet and then he held it out to Harry. “I think… destroying it would…”

Harry took the bracelet, and gently. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine how difficult this must be.”

Lancelot offered him a wry smile. “Thank you, sir.” He paused. “I’ll… go find something for you to use.”

Harry nodded and watched him leave. He used the time to look around for something of Merlin’s. It wasn’t long before he found a leather jacket. It was a motorcycle jacket, one he hadn’t seen since the 80s. He’d seen Merlin wearing it once upon a time.

He pulled it off the hook Chester had left it on and grinned. He could set Merlin free. He could… let his lover leave him. Leave Kingsman. It hurt, oh, fuck, did it _hurt_. But the idea of Merlin being enslaved to him, having no choice _but_ to be with him… that hurt more.

He set it aside for now. He’d call Merlin down once he’d seen to Lancelot. He waited, but it didn’t take the agent long to return… and with a hammer. He held it out to Harry, and Harry set the bracelet on the table.

He eyed Lancelot, silently asking permission to destroy the other man’s pledge bracelet. Lancelot gave him a pained look and nodded. Harry brought the hammer down on each pearl. As the last one shattered, there was a burst of light.

“Do you feel… any different?”

Lancelot shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

Harry smiled a little. “Stand on your head.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Harry’s smile grew. “I gave you an order.”

Lancelot stiffened a little, and then smiled. The smile turned into a grin. “With respect, Arthur, fuck your orders.”

Harry laughed. “You’ve been waiting a long time to say that.”

“Yes, I have.”

Harry nodded toward the door. “Go on. Go see your family.” He paused. “And James… if you don’t come back… no one will blame you.”

Lancelot nodded. “My life is here now, Harry. Alistair and Roxy… they’re as much my family as my wife and daughter. Although, if she’ll have me back, I’d like to be able to visit them.”

“Of course.”

Lancelot picked up the remains of the bracelet and left. Harry sent a pair of messages over the glasses feed. The first was to the board to inform them that Lancelot had been freed and was leaving to check on his family. The second was to Merlin, asking him to meet him in the private vault.

10

Harry had the entire scene set by the time Merlin arrived. He’d pulled the table over so that Merlin would see it immediately upon entering the vault. He’d found an inclined stand and carefully draped the coat over it. He was standing beside it, leaning slightly against the table.

Merlin eyed the coat and eyed Harry. “Is there something you needed? Sir?”

The question wiped the smile from Harry’s face. “I found it. I thought… well… we could burn it together or something similar.”

Harry knew, immediately, he’d said something very wrong. Merlin looked stricken and he paled. He could see Merlin’s eyes going between the coat and himself.

“Darling,” Harry reached out and then stopped himself. “I only meant…” He shook his head. “I destroyed what Chester had binding James. I thought that might… work for you, as well.”

“It won’t,” Merlin said quietly.

“Then tell me what will,” Harry said gently. “Whatever it is, that’s what we’ll do.”

“Give it back to me? _Please_?”

Harry picked it up and brought it to him. The pleading sound in Merlin’s voice _hurt_. “Take it. It’s yours.”

Merlin took it from him and put it on, his eyes slipping shut. Harry made a soft sound. Merlin was suddenly so much _brighter_. Fuck, he was _beautiful_. Had he just forgotten how Merlin looked with that coat on?

“Merlin, if you… I mean, I’m sure you want to leave.”

“I’d like to, yes.” He shivered. “It’s been… so long since I’ve been in the sea.”

Harry put a hand on Merlin’s arm. “Go,” he said quietly.

He wanted so _badly_ to kiss him; this man he’d shared so many years with; this man he loved so terribly. But he couldn’t - he _wouldn’t_ \- do that to him. Not now that he knew the truth.

He watched as Merlin turned toward the door, and then called him back. “Merlin… if I may? What… _are_ you?”

He looked back at Harry. “A selkie.”

Harry nodded. “Enjoy the sea.”

Merlin smiled at him and left.

Harry sent a message to the board, letting them know that Merlin was very likely gone. Why would he come back? He’d been set free after years of being forced to play lover. Harry shook his head and started cataloguing everything in the vault. He could work on figuring out what went with which staff member and agent once he knew what he had.

It was better than focusing on the fact that he was never going to see Merlin again.

11

A week later and Harry had barely been home beyond sleeping and showering. He’d been interviewing staff and agents, always with at least one member of the board with him, to figure out who was and was not bound. Not every binding could be solved by destroying or returning the item. Some required counter spells, which took research.

And then there were the people locked away as being threats. Harry had requested files, one at a time, to review while waiting between interviews for his next one to arrive. They were down an agent - two if one included Bedivere - and a major staff member. They couldn’t even begin to replace Lancelot and Bedivere until Harry was certain if the former was returning or until they had someone to take Merlin’s role. On top of all of that, there were still sightings to deal with.

As more members of Kingsman were freed, Harry was… pleased _and_ relieved by how many of them were willing to remain, to give this new regime a chance to do what Kingsman had been intended for. Some of them left, yes, but almost all of them gave a return date.

Harry’s door opened.He looked up from the file he was reading over - a telepath who clearly had no reason to be locked away - and frowned slightly. No one was in the doorway. No one he could see, anyway.

“Geraint?”

“Yes.” There was a pause and then Harry heard him sigh. “May I come in?”

“Please do.” He motioned to a chair. “I’m… waiting for my next interview.”

The knight nodded as he sat, and then remembered that Harry couldn’t see him. “Yes, I thought as much.”

“What may I do for you?”

“I thought you might like to know that we’ve come to a decision and have appointed a permanent Arthur.”

Harry looked down at the file, closed it, and set it aside. “Yes, sir.”

“I want you to understand that there was a _lot_ we had to take into account. Experience, seniority, recent events, just to name a _few_ things.”

Harry forced a calm smile. He’d lost Merlin, and now his time as Arthur was up. “Of course. That’s only natural.”

“And if you have any objections, we would like to hear them.”

Harry shook his head. “I’ve no doubt your selection is the best option for Kingsman. I would like to congratulate them, however, if you’d… tell me who it is.”

There was a silence in which Geraint went back over the conversation. “Did I not… say?”

“No, sir.”

He sighed. “I’m getting old. Old _er_ I suppose.” He paused. “We’ve appointed you as the permanent Arthur.”

Harry stared at the empty space Geraint’s voice had been coming from. “You… you said you appointed _me_.”

“Yes.” A pause. “Do you object?”

“No!” Harry cleared his throat. “I mean, of course not. I will do my best to live up to the role.”

“We have little doubt of that.” He paused. “Also, you should be pleased to know that Lancelot is back on Kingsman grounds.”

Harry smiled. “I’m glad.”

“You’re no longer technically required to, but we would appreciate if you continued to keep the board updated on your progress with this… mess.”

Harry nodded. “I plan to.”

“Good. Good.” The chair moved as the knight stood. “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. And, congratulations, Arthur.”

Harry smiled faintly and watched as his door shut. His immediate reaction was to contact Merlin and tell him. His hand was halfway to his glasses when it hit him again that Merlin was gone. He lowered his hand and sighed. He knew it was going to keep hitting him in these little ways for quite some time. He shook his head and went back to the file he’d been looking over.

12

He’d been Arthur for nearly a week. He’d forced himself to take a step back from his 16 to 20 hour days. Now that he was permanently Arthur, there was no reason to kill himself to get as much done as he could in as short a time as possible.

He’d been asleep for a couple of hours, and didn’t hear when the front door opened. Despite being a light sleeper, he didn’t hear someone mounting the stairs and coming into his bedroom; that particular someone knew where every creak in the house was and how to get around without waking Harry.

Harry woke when he felt the mattress shift and lips on his own. He woke looking up into Merlin’s eyes. “Am I dreaming?” he asked softly.

“No.” Merlin kissed him again, just as softly.

Harry put his hands on Merlin’s shoulders and gently pushed him away. He sat up. “Chester told me. I’m sorry for never realizing.” He shook his head. “You don’t… have to do this. Go… back to the sea. Be _happy_ for once.”

Merlin made a soft sound. “Harry Hart, yeh fuckin’ twit.” He put his hand on Harry’s cheek. “Why do you think I came back? Because I love you. My life is here, with _you_.”

“Chester _forced_ you to be with me.”

“Aye, he made it an order.” Merlin sat beside him. “Do you remember our first date?”

Harry laughed softly. “I try not to think about it.”

Merlin hummed. “I thought you’d known what Chester had ordered. But you hadn’t, and so I had to work at convincing you I wanted to date yeh.”

Harry stared at Merlin for a moment. He _had_ done that, hadn’t he? “Oh, Merlin,” he said softly. “I-”

Merlin put a finger on Harry’s lips. “I had ta get to know you to do that. I _liked_ what I found.” He paused. “It’s why… I never wanted us to be… out… at work, why I never agreed to move in with you.” He stroked Harry’s cheek. “I never wanted Chester knowing how I felt about you.”

He tugged Harry closer and kissed him. Harry’s mouth opened against his, his arms wrapping around Merlin. Harry let Merlin lay him back, and let his hands slip up to the selkie’s shoulders.

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

Merlin laughed. “Fuck, you’re adorable.”

Harry ran his fingers along Merlin’s arms. His coat still looked like a leather jacket, but the design looked a bit more current. Harry felt almost… guilty… touching it. It wasn’t _really_ touching the coat that was sparking the feeling.

“Don’t get like that,” Merlin said. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“You’ll forgive me, darling, if knowing you eventually came to care for me doesn’t make me feel any less like...” He shook his head.

“Hang on.” He eyed Harry for a moment. “You… are a kind, considerate man. You’re a true gentleman, and yeh always have been with me. Nothing happened between us, Harry, that I didn’t want just as much. _Nothing_.” He paused. “Except the opera. _That_ I never _could_ get into.”

“Yes, and that’s why-”

“-you don’t take me anymore. Even though I didn’t tell you that I didn’t like it, you knew.” He stood up and shrugged out of his coat. He hung it in the closet and then got undressed. “I want you to keep it.”

Harry shook his head. “No, I’m not-”

“Just because you _have_ it doesn’t mean I can’t tell yeh ta fuck off.”

Harry watched him for a moment. “On two conditions.”

Merlin nodded and got into bed beside him. “Name them.”

“One: I’m only _holding_ it for you. I’m not _keeping_ it. You’re not my prisoner or my slave or whatever else.”

Merlin smiled. “That’s _why_ I trust you with it, Harry.”

“Well…” Harry tipped his head in a half-shrug. “Two: if ever you want it back, be it for a day or an hour or the rest of your life, you don’t ask me for permission. You just take it. You can tell me if you want, but… you don’t _ask_.”

“I can live with that.” Merlin kissed him. “Will you do something for me?”

“Anything, darling.”

“Will you wear it?”

Harry stared at him. “You want me to…”

Merlin nodded. “I’ll make it look like something that’ll go nicely with a suit.”

“As long as my rules still apply.”

“Absolutely.”

Harry smiled. “Then, yes, I’ll wear your coat whenever you want me to.”


	2. Chapter 2

01

Eggsy was out working again. Not Smith Street; Eggsy had never been made to step foot _there_. Dean wanted to send him out hooking; he knew the brat would make a fuckin’ _killing_. But… it wasn’t allowed. It went against the Agreement, and that fuckin’ Agreement had made him a bloody mint over the last twenty years.

The scam was old and Eggsy hated pulling it, but the alternative was worse. Oh, it was _so_ much worse. And so he went out every day Dean had the store open. He’d wait somewhere near the store until a likely mark happened by. He was good with faces and almost never pulled it on the same person twice.

It was a little more than a half an hour before he saw a good looking one. She was in designer clothes - _actual_ shit, not knock-offs. Eggsy had gotten good at telling those from a distance. Not because the knock-offs were bad or always stood out, mind. It was more how the person carried themselves that told him what he needed.

He walked over to her, eyeing her more thoroughly as he approached. She had on a nice pair of earrings and a couple rings. The jewels in them were showy but not so big as to be gaudy. She had a nice, light scent on and her hair was nicely done. Just from that he knew the jewelry had to be real.

“Hey, babe,” he said as he sidled up to her.

She looked at him, looked him over, and then shook her head. “Married.”

He laughed. “I ain’t lookin’ for a date.”

“Oh? You call every woman ‘babe’ then?”

He shrugged. “Bad habit from my misspent youth.”

“Well, whatever it _is_ you’re selling, I’m not buying.”

He grinned. “Ain’t sellin’ nothin’. Just saw your jewelry and liked it.”

She stopped walking and turned toward him. “Are you… _mugging_ me?”

“Oh, no! No, ain’t like that!” He paused and sighed softly; her eyes glazed over. “I jus’ thought you’d _give_ it to me. As a present.”

“Oh… Hey, sure. A present.” She took off the rings and handed them to him. She did the same with the earrings. “Presents are nice, aren’t they?”

“Sure are, babe.” He paused. “You got anythin’ else on you that could be a present? Nice phone maybe?”

“Yeah,” she said dreamily. She took it out and handed it to him. “It’s an iPhone, only a couple months old. We just upgraded.”

“Thanks.” He nodded toward Dean’s shop. “Gotta get goin’, babe. Really appreciate it.”

“Sure.”

She stood there in a daze for a few minutes before going back to what she was doing. She had the vaguest of memories of some good-looking guy talking to her, but it wasn’t until she went for her phone that it hit her that he’d taken it. Or rather, that she’d _given_ it to him.

She turned around, looking for the place he’d nodded toward. It was a small place and somewhat uninviting. There was only one camera near it and no parking lot attached. The road was marked as a no parking zone in front of the store and a bit to either side. It had a pawnbroker’s sign out front and the name of the place was _Want You Pawn_. She almost decided to just cut her losses, but one of the rings she’d _given_ had been her wedding ring. She wanted that back.

02

Eggsy had gone back to the shop after robbing the woman. Dean was waiting for him behind the counter, and he didn’t look happy that it had taken him so long. Eggsy put the jewelry and the phone on the counter.

“Could be better for the fuckin’ time it took you, but it’ll have to do.”

“Right,” Eggsy said and moved off to the side.

He knew what he’d done would wear off soon enough and then the woman would be in the shop, demanding her stuff back. Dean would get her riled up and then ask if she hadn’t given them as ‘presents’. She’d tell him she had, and then Dean would point out that she gave them up, willingly. But hey, she could always buy the stuff back.

He’d been pulling this shit ever since he’d been left in Dean’s care. He could remember, all too well, the first day he’d gone to the shop. It had been the same small, dingy place even then. There’d been more things on the shelves, none of it very valuable. The shop’s location, along with the lack of parking, were the main factors in how rapidly Dean was going out of business.

_His hair had been longer then. He’d worn it spiked up with frosted tips. It had been a Thing back then. And even then, he’d looked to be somewhere in his mid-twenties. He’d gone into the shop with an older gentleman, one who kept a hand on the small of his back as they approached the counter. As if he needed the reminder to stay nearby. He wasn’t let out very often, and never on his own. He knew better than to try and run. He knew the consequences and he wouldn’t dare them._

_“Afternoon,” Dean had said with a nod. “What can I do for you?”_

_“It would be more what we can do for each other, Mr. Baker.”_

_Dean snorted. “Look, guv, I’m ‘bout a month from goin’ under.”_

_The older man smiled slightly. “I’m well aware of that, however I suspect that won’t be an issue soon. Not with my help.”_

_“Yeah? Whatchu gonna do? Huh?”_

_“I’m going to, shall we say,_ invest _in your…_ quaint… _little shop.”_

 _“Yeah? And what’s_ that _gonna run me?”_

_The older man’s smile grew. “Half of your profits.”_

_Dean snorted again. “Okay, Mister…?”_

_“King. Chester King.”_

_“Okay, Mr. King, and how d’you propose I keep open?”_

_King hummed softly. “Do you have anything of value on your person?”_

_“Why?”_

_King shook his head. “I assure you, nothing will actually be taken from you.”_

_“Well… got my wallet.”_

_“Excellent.” He pushed Eggsy forward. “Show him.”_

_“Yes, sir.” He sighed softly. “Could I have your wallet?”_

_“There ain’t much in it,” Dean said, even as he reached into his pocket to get it._

_Eggsy took it when Dean held it out. He handed it off to King, who pat his shoulder the way one might pat a dog’s head. Eggsy hated when the older man touched him, but it wasn’t like he could tell him to fuck off. The fucker had him by the short n’ curlies._

_It was only a few moments before Dean’s eyes cleared. Cleared, and then filled with fury. He was gonna throttle the thief and then the old fucker._

_“The fuck did you do to me?”_

_King held the wallet out to him. “The boy has a… rather remarkable talent. He can exercise a limited amount of control over another person. Imagine the money you could make with him here. He could obtain items for you that people would be most willing to pay for.”_

_Dean eyed Eggsy for a moment, the fury vanishing and greed appearing in its wake. “I take it_ he’s _the investment.”_

_“Quite so.”_

_Dean studied King’s face. “Half, huh?”_

_“I think that’s only fair, considering it’s my investment who’ll be doing all of the work for you.” He paused. “Or… you can go under.”_

_Dean sighed somewhat irritably. Half his profits was better than bein’ in the red every fuckin’ month. “Deal.”_

_King’s hand fell away from Eggsy. “I expect you to obey him the same as you would obey myself.”_

_“Yes, sir.”_

_“And Eggsy…” King paused until he was certain he had the young man’s complete attention. “If I have to take you out of here, you’re never going to see the light of day again. I’ll lock you away in your lovely ‘home’, and then I’ll destroy_ it.”

_Eggsy shook his head. “Won’t be necessary, sir.”_

_King smiled genially. Eggsy wasn’t fooled. Even if he hadn’t known what a fuck the older man was, that smile didn’t touch his eyes._

_“Good lad.” He turned his attention back to Dean. “I’ll expect my payments on the first of each quarter.”_

The bell above the door pulled Eggsy out of his thoughts. There she was, the lady in the designer clothes. Eggsy pretended to busy himself, to make it clear without saying anything that he worked in the store. He heard Dean talking to her, but he paid no attention to the words. It would be the same as it always was.

03

It had been just over two months since King’s death. Eggsy was walking down Savile Row, heading toward the Kingsman shop. He had a thick envelope hidden inside his jacket. He always offered to take Mr. King’s money to the shop personally. It let him have one day without the fuckin’ scam.

He went into the shop. The usual guys were behind the counter, but there was a third man in the store. One he’d never seen before. This man was tall, wearing a jumper, and really quite good looking. He passed by this new person and went straight to the counter.

“Delivery,” he said as he took out the envelope. He handed it off and left without another word.

Merlin waited until the young man was gone. “A delivery?”

Andrew nodded. “Yes, sir. He comes in every quarter with an envelope addressed to Mr. King.”

Merlin took it from the tailor and opened it. His brow rose at the cash inside and he cast a glance at the door, wondering about the young man. “I’ll just take this to Arthur,” he said.

It was only a matter of minutes before he was at Arthur’s door. As he waited for Harry to finish up with whatever he was seeing to, Merlin went into the CCTV network to try and pull up an image of the young man’s face.

He heard Harry calling his name before long. Even still, he didn’t have an image to show the agency’s head. The young man had, quite adeptly, managed to avoid looking up while in sight of the cameras. He _doubted_ Harry would be very interested in the shots of the young man’s backside. The thing that frustrated Merlin the _most_ was that the young man had turned a corner, turned onto a street where he would have been out of camera range for all of a metre, and he’d just… _vanished_.

Merlin closed the office door and handed the envelope to Harry. He let Harry look at the name on it and then thumb through it. “I’ve been trying to track the delivery boy down.”

“Trying…?”

Merlin shot him a surly look. “He knows where the cameras are, Arthur. I thought I’d just use them to follow where he was going. I had assumed he would be heading to an underground station, but…” He sighed, irritably. “I lost him.”

Harry’s brow rose but he didn’t question it. He knew it wasn’t easy for someone to just… lose Merlin like that. He nodded toward the envelope after a moment. “Do we know anything more about that?”

“Only that he brings it in every quarter.” He paused. “There are a few people who work under me that are… decent enough at faces. I’ll have one of them talk to Andrew and see if I can’t get a decent portrait out of it.”

“Keep me apprised.”

04

It was less than a week later when Merlin came back to Harry with an update on the young man. It had frustrated the fuck out of him, because with all the technology at his fingertips, he should have found _something_ sooner. But once he had…

“This is our delivery boy,” Merlin told him, bringing up a picture of Eggsy that was nearly twenty years old. “He appears to be in his mid-to-late twenties, although he’s clearly older than that. He may have been raised among his own kind.”

Harry was frowning slightly at the picture. “Do we know where this picture was taken?”

Merlin offered him a slight smile that might have been a grimace. “Oh, aye.” He tapped his clipboard and the picture zoomed out. The full image showed King beside the young man.

“The security camera outside the Vault.”

“Mmhmm.” Merlin paused. “He doesn’t have a file. Whoever he is, he was never officially here.”

Harry sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Wonderful.”

Harry had been dealing mostly with the prison population. Most of them were there because King had remanded them against the Kingsman charter. He’s been getting the ones he could into whatever counseling they wanted. But most of them were, quite understandably, shy of humans and simply disappeared back to their own kind.

He knew it had the potential to bite him in the arse, but it had been the right thing to do. And now Merlin had brought him proof that there were others, completely off-the-books, which Chester had been outsourcing as slave labor.

“I’m managed to track him to Camden and a pawnshop called Want You Pawn.”

“Oh, charming.”

Merlin nodded. “It’s owned by a Dean Baker. I’ve found several reports of oddities at the shop. People claiming that someone from the store approached them and they just… gave over their valuables. They’ve been reported to the police on a couple occasions, but nothing’s come of it.”

“Bribery?”

Merlin shook his head. “I’m not certain. Given how long this has been going on for, either our delivery boy has a very interesting ability or there is bribery going on.”

Harry sighed. “The only way we’re going to know for certain is to go there.”

Merlin nodded. “Aye. I thought we’d sent Lancelot and Percival-”

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I’ll go, with one of them.”

“Absolutely not, _Arthur_ ,” he snapped. “Yer not a fuckin’ agent anymore.”

Harry smiled lightly. “I haven’t forgotten that, Merlin. The arrangement they had, however, was with Chester. As I’ve taken his place, it seems only fitting that I go for an unannounced visit. Just to make certain the arrangement is to my liking, of course.”

Merlin’s lips pressed into a tight line. He did _not_ want Arthur in the field, but he also knew Harry was right. “Alright. I’ll tell Lancelot he’s joining you.

05

Twenty minutes later, Arthur and Lancelot were in Camden. The driver didn’t have trouble finding the shop; it was _parking_ that he had trouble with. He found a spot a couple blocks away, and then waited while Arthur and Lancelot scanned the area.

“ _On yer left_.”

Harry shifted his eyes. The young man was there, leaning against a building about half a block down. He looked the same age as the picture, but his hair was shorter; it was just a little too long to be called a crew cut. He was waiting, watching the people as they passed.

“He’s _bright_ ,” Harry said.

“Can you tell what he is?”

Harry laughed softly. “Oh, I _wish_ it worked like that. If he isn’t using his abilities, whatever they may be, then he’s just… _powerful_.”

“Lovely.”

“Would you like to stay in the car?”

Lancelot laughed. “I have a feeling Merlin would murder me.”

“ _Aye, I would_.”

Harry chuckled and the two got out of the car. They started toward the pawnshop and had just passed Eggsy when he pushed off of the wall. He fell in step with them, staying just forward enough to be in Harry’s peripheral vision.

“Something I might help you with?”

“Just out for a walk, guv,” Eggsy said. He sped up enough to get ahead of them and started walking backwards. “Don’t see people dressed like you often.”

“Well, we hardly come to this area often.”

Eggsy stopped moving and held his hands up to stop Harry and James. He grinned at them. “Might wanna check out the pawnshop over there.”

“Oh? Might we?”

“ _Careful, Arthur_.”

“Yeah, I think it’d be an idea.” Eggsy sighed. “Maybe, first though, you could give me a present? Like maybe your bracelet?”

Harry saw him brighten as he spoke, and he would have sworn he’d seen _something_ when the young man sighed. If he hadn’t been seeing things, then he was… seeing the young man use his ability? He’d never seen something like that… but then, most of the ones who used their magic had some sort of other effect. Maybe he could see it because there was nothing else visible about it.

“Oh, I could hardly give this up,” Lancelot said, even as he took the bracelet off. “My wife gave it to me the last time I was home. It’s… beyond priceless to me.”

Harry eyed James. His eyes were unfocused and a little glazed over. He wanted to reach out and stop James from giving up his new pledge bracelet, but he had to let the young man think he was getting away with it.

Eggsy took it from him with something of a forced grin. “Good to know.” He looked at Harry. “What ‘bout you, guv? Got anything valuable you could give me as a present?”

Harry felt no inclination to obey him. He could hear Merlin yelling in his ear, but he ignored him and took his watch off. “Just this,” he said, mimicking the sort of dreamy tone James’ voice had taken on. “It’s off-brand, but it’s valuable to me.”

“Well, we’ll call it a present, yeah?”

“Of course.”

It disappeared into his hand. “I’ll be in the pawnshop if you need anything. Thanks for the presents.”

Harry watched the thief head off and put a hand on Lancelot’s arm. Merlin was _still_ yelling at him. “Merlin, it’s _fine_ ; I’m fine.” He eyed James for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“Hm?” He stared at Harry for a moment and then his eyes started to clear. “I just gave him my fucking pledge bracelet!”

Harry nodded. “Yes, you did. It’s going to be alright.”

“ _You gave him yer fuckin’ watch, Arthur. You gave him Kingsman tech. You-_ ”

“Would you have preferred I let him realize that I have some sort of… immunity to his ability?” He waited a moment and continued when Merlin didn’t have an answer to that. “At least we’ve figured out _how_ they’re making the money they are.”

Lancelot sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I’m good to go in whenever you are, sir.”

He still felt a little unbalanced, a little foggy. He had to wonder how badly a normal human would be affected by the thief. Or if he hadn’t been a siren and capable of his own sort of manipulation. He really wanted to go into that shop and just unleash his voice on Baker and the thief. But… that would not be a gentlemanly thing, and he knew it wasn’t really the thief’s choice, not if King had been forcing him into it.

06

The shop was inside and well organized, but Harry could see right away that most of the items were of low value. He was a little surprised at how _well_ organized the shelves were. It seemed like more effort than a person like Baker would bother with. The gentleman - to use the term _loosely_ \- was behind the counter. The thief was working on one of the shelves; at least that explained the organization.

“ _That’s Baker_ ,” Merlin told them, fully aware that they would have been assuming as much. Still, the verification was good for agents to have in the field.

“Afternoon gents,” Dean said with a slow smile. “What can I help you with?”

Harry eyed the young thief for a few moments. The thief was pointedly looking at the shelf he was organizing and Harry was fairly certain he was just making himself look busy. Harry had the distinct impression that the young man was uncomfortable.

“Your associate,” he said, turning his attention to Baker, “took my watch and my friend’s pearl bracelet. We’d like them back.”

Dean’s smile grew. “ _Took_ them? You mean my worker mugged you? I find that very unlikely.”

Harry smiled thinly. “Normally, I assume this is the point where it comes out that we gave them as ‘presents’, as he called them, and then you offer to sell them back to us.”

Dean shrugged. “Well, if you _gave_ them to him, then they ain’t yours no more. So, yeah, if you want ‘em, you gotta buy ‘em.”

Harry hummed cheerfully. “ I don’t believe that’s how this will proceed.”

“No?” Dean laughed. “What d’you think you’re gonna do, huh? Go get a cop? You think that’ll do _shit_ for you?”

Harry laughed softly, mirthlessly. “Not after they finish speaking to your friend there, I’m certain. 

Dean shrugged. “What can I say? Justice is a fickle mistress.”

“Yes,” Harry agreed and then smiled. “Are you aware, Mr. Baker, that Chester King has died?”

Dean stiffened visibly and looked over at Eggsy; the boy shook his head slightly. “I…”

“Yes, it was a terrible tragedy.”

“So…” Dean began, looking from Harry to James, “you’re both…”

“We’re from Kingsman, yes,” Harry said.

Dean shot Eggsy a dark look before getting the bracelet and watch. “Very sorry, sirs. If Eggsy’d known who you was, he never woulda done it with you. Ain’t that right, boy?”

“Yes, sir,” Eggsy said quietly. He’d come over from the shelf and was standing a respectful distance from the agents.

“So, no harm, no foul, am I right?”

Harry picked up his watch and made a show of looking it over. “I came here to ascertain whether or not our relationship is one I feel we should continue,” he said coldly. “You see, _I_ have replaced Mr. King.”

“Have you now…?” Dean looked nervously between the two agents and then looked at Eggsy. A little smile appeared as he looked back at them. “You know, it’s possible Eggsy has _other_ presents of yours, Mister… um…?”

“Hart.”

“Mr. Hart.” Dean shot Eggsy a look. “Take him in back and make sure he gets _everything_ he wants. We want Mr. Hart to be happy, after all.”

Eggsy looked from Dean, to James, to Harry and then lowered his head. “Yes, sir.” He went over to the employee door and opened it. “C’mon, Mr. Hart. We’ll make sure you have… everything… you want.”

Harry and Lancelot exchanged a brief look before the former followed Eggsy into the back. There was a side room off of it. It was small and cramped and something of a mess, but Harry could almost see the underlying order in the chaos. There were natural things strewn about: pressed flowers and leaves; bits of bark; shiny stones. There were also swatches of cloth, balls of yarn, and felt squares. There was a pile of broken CDs on corner and Harry could see a picture Eggsy was making out of them. There was clothing strewn about and a bed against the far wall.

“You live in the shop?”

“I do. He don’t.” Eggsy shrugged. “Look, I really didn’t know you was Kingsman, Mr. Hart, and I didn’t know you was Mr. King’s replacement. So I mean… it ain’t gotta get ugly, right? I mean… I can take a beatin’ like nothin’. An’ I guess I’m a fairly good fuck, if that’s… more what you want.”

Harry eyed him for a moment. “Define ‘ugly’ if you would.”

“Bein’ locked back up in the Vault,” he said quietly, his hands coming up. “Look, I been good. I been doin’ _exactly_ what Mr. King said to.”

Harry shook his head. The boy - Eggsy, wasn’t that what Baker had called him? - seemed so afraid of him. “Does Mr. Baker have anything to ensure your cooperation?”

Eggsy shook his head. “He ain’t need to. Mr. King… he had everything in the Vault.”

Harry nodded. “Then I think it’s past time you were pulled from this location.”

Eggsy flinched and lowered his head. “Yes, sir.”

“Is there… anything you’d like to bring with you?”

“No, sir.”

Harry watched him for a moment. He was a little surprised, given everything in the room, that Eggsy didn’t want to bring anything with him. He assumed that was either Baker or Chester’s doing; that meant that he likely wanted all of this things.

He put a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder. “Come along, then.”

Eggsy went with him without a word. He barely heard anything Mr. Hart said to Dean. The feel of the human’s hand on his shoulder was a constant reminder of what was awaiting him. He knew it was the human’s way of reminding him who was in charge.

He kept his head down as he was guided to the door and the car. He watched out the window as they drove away. He knew he was fucked. Utterly, completely _fucked_.

07

They pulled up to Kingsman’s headquarters and Eggsy had to steel himself from just breaking down and begging for mercy. He’d done everything he’d been told to. How the fuck was he supposed to know King had died? Or what every member of Kingsman looked like? _Fuck_ , this was just Mr. Hart showing him who was in control. It was just like a fucking human.

He followed Mr. Hart to the lift. He stayed behind the human, his hands clenching into fists as the lift started down. His stomach was tight and he had to fight to keep breathing steadily. He hadn’t been on this particular ride in twenty years, but it still felt like it had only been yesterday.

“I’d like you to be aware of something,” Hart said. “I’m not locking you away in one of the cells.”

“Good of you, sir,” Eggsy said quietly. He’d only spent - what? A few weeks? A month? - in one of the cells before King had… come up with a better thing to do with him.

“I’m taking you down to what was Mr. King’s private area of the Vault.” He paused. “Have you ever been inside of it?”

Had he ever been there? Eggsy bit back a derisive laugh. It wouldn’t do anything more than make this worse for him. “Yes, sir.”

“Good, good.” Hart had the audacity to actually sound pleased. “Then you know what he keeps in there…?”

“I do, sir.” He was surprised by how steady his voice was, because he wasn’t far from begging. “Look, sir? I know… why we’re here, okay?”

Hart’s brow rose. Eggsy could see the cold disdain in Hart’s eyes. “Well, that saves time.” He paused. “Do you know where it is?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yes, sir. I know.”

Hart smiled; Eggsy could _see_ the sneer beneath it. “Wonderful.”

The lift stopped and Eggsy had to fight to keep from throwing up. He waited for Hart to get off and then followed him. He was _not_ going to show his fear. He was _not_ going to let this fuckin’ human break him down. He knew what the human had on him; that was _more_ than enough to keep him in line.

He watched as Hart unlocked the door. The hand and retina scanners hadn’t been there twenty years ago. Course, he wasn’t sure if those had _really_ been a thing twenty years ago. The door slid open and the human stepped aside, a dark little smile on his face.

Fuck, he wanted to punch the human in his fuckin’ face. Maybe mess up his immaculate fuckin’ hair. But he just went into the room and headed for where he knew he was being sent. Every step became harder than the last. The only thing that kept him moving was hearing the human following him.

He stopped in front of the iron cell. It had been his home for… he wasn’t even sure how long it had been his home. Time had stopped meaning _anything_ in that dark, cramped cell. Every so often, King would adjust the size. He’d either raise the ceiling of it and move the back of it forward until he’d had no choice to do anything but stand. Other times he’d lower the ceiling so he’d had no choice but to curl up. There was never room to actually lay down, or curl up on his side. Sitting curled up, with his head down between his knees, had quickly become painful.

And then… Eggsy shuddered at the thought of what _else_ had happened while he’d been trapped in his cell. _That_ still haunted his nightmares. He took a couple steadying breaths. He knew there would be no hiding his fear now, but he wouldn’t break down.

“So…” he looked back at Hart. “This where you tell me how I’m gonna do everythin’ you say or else… or you actually puttin’ me back in there?” He tried to sound flippant, but he could hear his voice wavering.

The _look_ on Hart’s face almost made him laugh. It started as confusion, and then understanding, and then some species of thinly veiled anger. Eggsy could see it clear in his eyes though. He could see the cold and icy contempt. It was the first time that it wasn’t just his imagination and expectations coloring his view. And seeing it so very _clearly_ was more terrifying that the veiled disdain he’d been so certain of. It made him realize that _this_ human was gonna be a _lot_ different from King. There wouldn’t be threats; there would just be pain.

“Okay, okay.” He brought his hands up; he could feel himself trembling. “Chill the fuck out, guv. I’m goin’. I’m goin’.” He stepped into the cell. The top of it was only a handful of centimetres above his head. He was gonna break; he knew it. “Do I stand…? I’m just asking, sir, so I know what to do.”

“Get out of there,” Hart said quietly.

Eggsy took a shuddering breath and stepped out. He hadn’t felt that terrified in two decades. He kept his head down. “What… what now? Sir.”

“You thought I meant that cell…” Hart said softly, shaking his head.

Eggsy didn’t dare look up at him. “What else would you’ve meant, sir?”

“Chester kept spells on… far too many people,” Hart said.

Eggsy curled up on himself a little. He heard how softly Hart was speaking. How… how gently. As if it had been the cell and not him that had angered the human. As if it had been how Mr. King had treated him.

But he knew better. He knew what humans were like.

“I don’t know which item goes to which person.”

“Oh.” Eggsy looked up at him after a moment. Hart didn’t know what King had on him. Whatever else Hart could do to him, he couldn’t destroy it. “Maybe I don’t wanna tell you.” He shrugged. “I’ll still behave.” Mostly because he knew it would only be a matter of time before Hart figured out _what_ King had on him.

“Eggsy,” he said softly. “I don’t want to keep it.”

Eggsy fought to keep from rolling his eyes. He knew he was being baited into trapping himself even worse. “Right. Cos you’re gonna… what? Set me free?” He heard the sarcasm in his voice. He knew he’d pay for it later, but he wasn’t sorry it was there.

“That’s… exactly my plan.”

“Right.”

“I understand why you think that. After everything Chester did, I think I’d be more surprised if you took me to it.”

He eyed Hart for a moment, trying to figure out this very _strange_ human. “So… back to Dean, yeah?”

“No,” Hart said calmly. “I have a better idea than that.”


	3. Chapter 3

01

Eggsy watched outside the window as they drove again. It was just him, Mr. Hart, and Mr. Hart’s driver this time. He wasn’t sure where he was being taken, but they were in a nice looking neighborhood. He watched as the driver turned down a side street and pulled up to one of those nice looking houses.

“Didn’t see a pawnshop nearby, sir,” he said quietly. “I ain’t objectin’, just… sayin. It’s gonna be harder to sell the stuff for good money. Unless your guy plans on dealin’ with ‘em all privately.”

Hart smiled at him. It was that sorta condescending, patronizing smile that made Eggsy want to punch him in the face. Not that Eggsy had expected anything else from the human. Or was… even aware that he was seeing his expectations and not what was there.

“I do not have a ‘guy’, as you put it,” Harry said calmly.

Eggsy eyed him for a moment and then looked out the window again. “So… how’m I s’pposed to get you money, sir?”

“You aren’t,” Harry said simply. “This is… where you’ll be living, for now, anyway.”

Eggsy’s head snapped back to Hart, the confusion clear on his face. Why was he being put up in some posh fucker’s house? What? Was he supposed to rob the fucker blind? But… Hart said he wasn’t going to be making money… “Oh… kay… Whatever you say, sir.”

The driver opened the car door, for Eggsy first and then for Hart. Eggsy waited, uncertainly, while Hart spoke quietly to the driver. Eggsy followed him up to the house, expecting the human to knock… and was a little surprised when he used a key, instead.

And then his stomach sank. Because this was _Hart’s house_. He shuddered with revulsion and, for a moment, very seriously considered bolting. But that would just… He sighed softly and lowered his head as he followed the human inside.

The house was nice looking. A bit… lacking in personality beyond ‘someone rich lives here’, but nice looking. Especially for a prison. Because that’s all this place would be for him; a prison.

“Lounge,” Hart said, indicating the doorway. “Toilet. Upstairs you’ll find my office, which I would appreciate if you’d stay out of; my bedroom; bath; and a second bedroom. That will be yours.”

“Yes, sir.” So… he’d have a bedroom of his own. That was a… good _ish_ sign.

Hart hummed softly. “I don’t have much for you to do, I’m afraid.”

Eggsy looked around the entryway and into the dining room. The place was fucking spotless. Hart probably had a fucking maid. A human one who was about to find herself out of a job, cos why pay for it when you can force someone to do it?

“Would you be able to entertain yourself for… four or five hours? I’ll have something for you to do by then.”

Eggsy bit down the anger that wanted to come up. What good would it do to fight the inevitable? “Yes, sir.”

“Good man,” Hart said, and then…

 _And fucking then_ , the human put his fucking _hand_ on his shoulder. He waited for the human to pat him, the way King had. Like he was the human’s fucking _pet_ (and, well… he kinda _was_ ; that was the worst part). But the human just… squeezed his shoulder and let go of him.

“My name is Harry; you don’t need to call me ‘sir’.”

“Of course.”

Hart watched him for a moment - probably to see if he’d take the offer and call him ‘Harry’ or not - and then nodded to himself. “I’ll be back later, then.”

Eggsy watched him leave and heard the lock turn. He knew that was just something humans did, since humans were bastards even to each other, but it felt like listening to a prison door’s lock. He sighed softly to himself, and tried to decide if Hart seemed like someone who just wanted a servant… or if he was going to be expected to take care of more _personal_ duties. King had never made him… do that… but Hart was clearly _very_ different from King. And he wasn’t yet sure _how_ different the two humans were.

02

He’d been sitting on the sofa for a good half-hour. He was tapping his heel on the floor nervously. Well, vibrating his heel against the floor, really. Hart had said to amuse himself and… he didn’t want to touch the wrong things.

Primarily because Hart’s request that he stay out of the home office was circling his mind. Why tell him to stay out if there wasn’t something… important… in there? Hart had _said_ he didn’t know what it was… but what if he did? What if it was _in the house_?

Eggsy got up with an annoyed yell. He _needed_ to distract himself or else he was gonna end up in the fuckin’ office. He went around the lounge, almost flitting here and there, looking for _something_. He looked at the bookcase and dismissed it just as quickly. It was organized; some by size, some by series, some alphabetically.

There was a second one, and this one was… much more haphazard. Books were more strewn about, some upright and some on their sides. The books were on the lower three shelves. The upper three were a collection of blu-rays. It was less of a mess than the books, but still very haphazardly arranged.

He sat cross-legged on the floor and pulled the books down. He set them in piles that were similar to the way the other bookcase was organized. He started replacing them, very aware of the complete lack of dust on the bookcase. Hart _definitely_ had a maid.

Once those three shelves were complete, he stood up and started taking the blu-rays down, putting them in piles alphabetically. As he was organizing them, the urge to swap them around to different cases hit him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly sighed it out. Harmless mischief was fun, and something he hadn’t been able to really do for twenty years. But he wasn’t going to give into the urge, not in Hart’s house.

He finished with those, and went into the kitchen. Soon enough, Hart’s pantry was organized and Eggsy went back to flitting about, trying to find something to distract himself with. He went over to the toilet, not really expecting there to be anything in there to distract himself with, and opened the door.

He just _stared_ for a few moments. There was a taxidermied cairn terrier on a shelf, a plaque that read ‘Mr. Pickle’ beneath it. Behind it was a mirror that ran the length of the shelf, and it was facing the mirror. There were frames full of butterflies all over the place, including one just sitting on the window sill and leaning against the blinds. And there was a coat rack.

He grinned at the little room. It was organized chaos and made him think of the room he’d had at the shop. The dog _was_ a little disconcerting, especially with it facing the mirror. What the fuck was up with that even?

He shut the door and went upstairs. He looked in Hart’s bedroom, just to look; he stood in the hallway as he looked around. There was a small desk with a laptop in there. That explained the differences in the two bookcases; someone lived with Hart. That made him shiver, because that person was an Unknown.

He closed the door and went to the room that was his now. It had a chest of drawers, a nightstand, and a bed. A nice looking bed. He went to it and sat down; he bounced a couple times, feeling the mattress out. It _was_ a nice bed.

Eggsy did _not_ want to leave the bedroom. The only room he hadn’t gotten into was Hart’s office, and the urge to go in there was getting stronger. He left the bedroom and walked slowly down the hall, stopping in front of the office. If it was in there, he could take it and fuckin’ run. If it wasn’t… well, Hart probably had cameras hidden in there somewhere. It would mean one fuck of a beating. But if he didn’t look…

He stepped inside, moving slowly. There was a desk, laptop, and a bar. One wall was covered in evenly spaced front pages from The Sun. He slowly went around the room. There was nothing in the bar but glasses, alcohol, and things to make drinks. He went over to the desk and started carefully going through the drawers, knocking on the backs and bottoms as he went. But there was nothing hidden in the desk.

He leaned back against the wall, and felt it shift a little. He turned around, looking closely at the spaces between the pages. He found where the seam was and started gently prodding it. After a bit of searching, he heard a click and a portion of the wall opened outward. He stepped around it and let it swing the rest of the way open.

It was a closet, with an assortment of things that made him think of the toilet downstairs. There were a couple umbrellas on the wall, a sniper rifle, and several handguns. There was a shelf with a few lighters. The oddest thing, among the entire collection, was a dress and a wig hanging on the far wall.

But… _it_ wasn’t there.

He sighed and stepped back, closing the wall again. He left the office, just hoping that Hart wouldn’t beat him too badly over this. Still, at least he knew now, without a doubt, that it wasn’t here.

03

Eggsy snapped awake. He’d hidden himself away in the closet and shed his human form. He was smaller that way, and could hide easier. And… it gave him time to react if, say, he heard the bedroom door open.

“Harry, I think he bolted. Yes, I looked everywhere.”

Eggsy cringed, quickly taking on the human form again and scrambling out of the closet. “No! No! I didn’t run! I just…”

He trailed off, staring at the man who’d come into his room. It was the older man in the jumper he’d seen in the shop. That good looking, older man. At least that answered the question of who else lived here.

“Why… were yeh in the closet?”

Eggsy shrugged. “Felt… safer.”

Hart’s… lover or whatever just watched him for a moment and then nodded. “Aye, I’ll tell him; don’t worry,” he said and then tapped his glasses. “Harry isn’t angry with yeh, lad. He just asked me to reiterate his request that you stay out of his office.”

Eggsy lowered his head. “That’s why you’re here, innit? Mr. Hart’s… too busy to drop everything to come home and beat me.”

“As I said, Harry isn’t angry. He wasn’t actually surprised that you went in there.” Merlin paused for a moment. “He _was_ surprised you only found the one secret. He figured you’d be a bit more thorough than that.”

Eggsy straightened up. “There was more than one?”

Merlin nodded, motioned for him to follow, and went into the office. He opened the smaller armory in the wall. There were only a few guns in there. It was less a real armory and more an emergency sort of thing; it was a bit more accessible on the fly.

“Take a look,” Merlin said with a nod toward it.

Eggsy eyed him suspiciously, but then went over to it. It looked very straightforward, but he knocked along the wall of it anyway. There was another lighter beneath one of the guns. “Why’s Mr. Hart got so many lighters?”

“They’re grenades,” Merlin said with a slight smirk.

“Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious, Eggsy,” he said. “Don’t ever try and use them. They _will_ blow up in short order.”

Eggsy stared at him for a moment and then looked back at the lighter. “Mr. Hart blow up a lot of people then?”

“Only when it’s necessary.”

Eggsy nodded and looked around the room. “So… any _other_ secret places?”

Merlin waved his hand toward the wall. “Feel free to check. There aren’t, but… I have a feeling you’ll want to check and not just take my word for it.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment before going around the room, tapping the walls and listening for a hollow sound. He didn’t find anything else and he shrugged.

“You know… if you’d just tell Harry what Chester had on you…” Merlin trailed off and was silent for a moment. “If you ever decide you can trust one of us, but… you take the time you need.” He watched Eggsy for a moment. “There is one thing I’d like to know.”

Eggsy nodded. “What’s that, sir?”

“I would like to know what you did with my blu-rays.”

Eggsy blinked at him. “I just… organized them.”

“And if I open the case, what will I find…?”

“I wouldn’t-a done that!” Eggsy said and then looked away guiltily. “Alright, so I _thought_ about messing with them. But I didn’t, sir. Swear it.”

He eyed Eggsy for a moment before nodding. “Alright.” He turned to go and paused in the doorway. “And my name is Merlin, by the way. You don’t need to call me ‘sir’.”

“Yes, sir. Um, Merlin.” He paused uncertainly. “Sir.”

Merlin smiled just a little before leaving him alone in the office. Eggsy scowled after him. He’d seen the compassion in the human’s face, as if the fucker could even _begin_ to understand what it was like to be enslaved to one of his kind. And not just one of his kind, but to him and Hart. Even if Hart _hadn’t_ beaten him. Yet.

He sighed, because getting angry was gonna do nothin’ for him, and followed Merlin downstairs. Merlin had gone into the lounge. By the time Eggsy joined him, Merlin had put a movie on and was over at his bookshelf. Eggsy watched him for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to announce himself? Wait silently until called on?

“I really should thank you for what you did,” Merlin said, casting a glance over his shoulder. “It’s much easier to find what I’m looking for now.”

“Glad you’re happy with it, Merlin, sir.”

“Just ‘Merlin’ is fine, Eggsy,” he said, going over to the sofa. “You’re welcome to grab a book if you like. I’m afraid we don’t have much in the house to entertain a fae yet, but…”

Eggsy shook his head. “I’m sure Mr. Hart has things he’d rather I do than sit on my arse. I wouldn’t have napped but… sorta… ran outta stuff that I saw I could do.” He bit his lip. “Am I… supposed to make dinner, Merlin?” It rose in him to say ‘sir’ and he had to bite it down. King had taught him - painfully taught him - to call humans ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ if he was in their care. Not calling Merlin ‘sir’ was… almost painful.

“No, yer not; Harry's bringing something home with him," Merlin said softly. "And, regardless, Harry didn't bring you here to be a slave, Eggsy. So please… _relax_.”

Eggsy nodded silently and went over to the chair. He sat in it and pulled his legs up, curling up. He didn't buy any of that. Well, maybe Hart was bringing food home, but the rest was clearly bullshit. But... the human said 'relax', so he was gonna... make an attempt.

He watched the movie silently; it was a nature documentary about the ocean. It was nice, and kinda soothing. He listened as the narrator talked about the seals getting food and playing… and then the music changed and the documentary showed an orca. Eggsy saw Merlin’s entire posture change. The man was all but snarling at the screen. He picked up the remote, fast-forwarded past the scenes with the orca, and then had it play again.

“They gotta eat, too,” Eggsy said softly. “I mean… you wouldn’t just want them to starve, would you?”

“In a word, _yes_.”

Eggsy stared at him for a moment before shrugging. “Sorry… thought most humans liked orcas.”

“ _Humans_ do; _I_ do not.”

Eggsy sat up a little. “You… ain’t human?”

Merlin shook his head. “No. I’m a selkie.”

Eggsy’s eyes widened slightly. His eyes shifted to the documentary and then back to Merlin. “Oh…” That explained the looks Merlin had been giving him. Merlin _actually_ understood what he was feeling. “So King…”

Merlin nodded. “Took my coat, yes.”

“Was you… I mean… People force your kind to, to fuck ‘em, right?”

“King never did that with me. He _did_ , however, order me to Harry’s bed.”

Eggsy winced.

“He wanted to keep tabs on Harry’s personal life; make sure his protégé never caught on to what he was doing.” He paused. “Harry never knew Chester was making slaves of us, or remanding people without cause.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment. “King’s dead though.”

Merlin nodded. “Aye, and Harry has been working to free everyone since then.” He paused. “He was the one to actually kill Chester.”

“Just can’t find your coat, huh?” Eggsy spat. “Real convenient, that.”

Merlin shook his head. “No, he found it. I was the second one he set free. I went back to the sea for a while. I hadn’t been home… longer than you were with Baker.”

He sighed softly, his eyes drifting to the ocean on the screen. Even now, he missed it and felt the call to return. But it wasn’t the painful wound it had been when Chester had held his coat. Because now he _could_ return, anytime he wanted.

Eggsy shook his head. “Then why come back? Why come back to your fuckin’ rapist?”

Merlin smiled lightly. “Harry never forced me into anything, Eggsy. At the very beginning, I assumed he’d be… exactly what you think of him. He realized I wasn’t here willingly, and assumed that I’d come because he’d been interested in me and that I felt my job was in danger.” He paused. “So he pushed me away. He told me we would just be friends, or even just colleagues, unless I came to want more. And I did. It’s why I came back. It’s why I gave him my coat.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Eggsy was shaking his head again. “You _gave_ it back to him? You just… walked back into this bullshit?”

Merlin laughed softly. “There is a difference, Eggsy, between someone stealing it to forcibly bind one of us… and _freely_ giving it up. I love him, and I _want_ to be with him.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment, feeling a _lot_ of pity for him. “You gave up your home for a _human_?”

Merlin laughed again. “ _Hardly_. Harry has my coat, yes, but I can take it back anytime I want. Anytime I want to go back - for a day, for the rest of my life, whatever - I’m free to. I _choose_ to be here.”

“You’re fuckin’ mental, you know that?”

Merlin shrugged lightly. He knew it would take a _lot_ more than just his word to change how the fae looked at things. It would take a lot of work, especially on Harry’s part. Unless Harry managed to figure out what it was keeping Eggsy here.

04

It was only a couple hours later when Harry came home. Merlin went out to meet him, and Eggsy followed. Eggsy lingered in the doorway between the lounge and the hallway. He watched them go through what had become a ritual with them. Merlin took his coat off of Harry and put it in the closet. Eggsy could see how much Harry enjoyed the ritual. Harry loved the symbolic act of returning the coat to Merlin; of the silent, daily reminder that Merlin was free to leave anytime he wanted. But what Eggsy saw was a creature like himself who’d convinced himself he loved his captor in order to survive.

A couple men had come inside with Harry. Each of them was holding two moving boxes. Harry directed them to take them upstairs and leave them outside what was now Eggsy’s room. Eggsy’s eyes narrowed slightly, wondering _what_ he was being left with. But then he shrugged inwardly; he’d find out soon enough.

“Eggsy,” Harry began once the two men were gone, “would you be a dear and help us?”

 _Like I have a choice_ , he thought; but he said, “Of course, Mr. Hart.”

Harry picked up a Chinese take-away bag from the narrow table in the entryway. Eggsy followed them into the kitchen and watched Merlin get down four serving bowls. Harry went around him to the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle.

“Could you set the table for us?”

“Of course, sir.”

Eggsy got down a pair of plates and bowls. He turned to get some silverware and heard Merlin getting into the cabinet again. He looked over his shoulder and saw that he had, without comment, added another plate and bowl. He watched as Merlin dished out the food Harry'd bought and then looked over at the human himself. _He_ was getting three wine glasses. Eggsy realized he was being silently… told or invited… to eat with them. 

He took the plates and utensils out to the dining room and set the plates and bowls down. He set a napkin down by each setting and then just stared at it. He hadn’t done this in a long, _long_ time. He was still trying to remember when Merlin brought out two of the serving bowls. He casually told him which utensil went where and then went back into the kitchen after the other two bowls.

Eggsy smiled just a little. As much as he didn’t want to be Hart’s slave… well… Merlin was Hart’s, too. But now… Merlin only had to do whatever he did at Kingsman and fuck Hart. He didn’t have to do things around the house for Hart anymore. Cos Merlin could _say_ that he wasn't a servant, and they could do this... well, pleasant-ish thing where they _acted_ like he was a part of the house, but... Eggsy _knew_ what his place would always be with a human.

Harry carried in the wine glasses and set them out before filling his and Merlin's glasses. “Do you care for wine?”

Eggsy shrugged as he sat. “Never had it.”

“Would you like to try it?”

“You _can_ say ‘no’, Eggsy,” Merlin said softly.

Eggsy looked from one to the other before shrugging again. “Sure.”

Harry filled Eggsy’s glass and took a seat. “I wasn’t certain what you prefer to eat, so I got us a chicken, a beef, and a vegetable entrée, and rice, of course.”

Eggsy eyed him. “Don’t really care. I mean, been eatin’ just whatever Dean brought me.”

The bowls went around the table. Eggsy took a bit from each and ate, mostly in silence. Harry tried to get him talking, but after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, he moved on to talking to Merlin. He did, however, keep the conversation to something Eggsy could join in if he wanted. Eggsy really didn’t want to though. He kept up with the conversation, however, looking from Merlin to Hart as the two men talked. Once they were done, Hart and Merlin took care of the leftovers and the dishes. Eggsy assumed it as a not-really-subtle message for him to go take care of the boxes. 

He went upstairs and hauled them into his bedroom. He sat on the floor with them arranged in a semicircle in front of him. He opened one of them and then just _stared_ at the contents. Most of the contents were in sealed, clear bags; some of it was in smaller, labeled boxes. He tore the tops off the rest of the moving boxes.

It was all of his stuff from Dean’s shop. It had been packed with _care_. It was almost as if… as if Hart wanted him to feel at ease in this prison. He shook that thought away and looked around the room. It was a lot bigger than his room at the shop had been. But he started arranging his stuff, putting it about how it had been in the shop. All except for the clothes. Those he put in the closet. Most of them he hung up. The things he _didn’t_ hang up he put on the floor in the corner.

He looked around when he was done, a little smile playing on his lips. There was still a lot of space left. If Hart let him, he could fill it up with more things. Maybe… _maybe_ … if he was good, Hart would let him get a couple plants. Ones he’d take care of, of course. Maybe he could be… well, not _happy_ but happ _ier_ than he’d been at Dean’s place. If Hart really just wanted a house servant, anyway.

If…

05

He stayed up in his room for a little while before going back downstairs. He’d brought one of the bags down with him; the only bag he hadn’t unpacked. He stood in the doorway to the lounge, keeping it behind his back. Merlin and Hart were inside, sitting together on the sofa and having an after dinner drink.

“Mr. Hart?”

Hart looked up at him. “Yes, Eggsy?”

Eggsy thought he looked calm and maybe in a pleasant sort of mood. Maybe he actually _was_ in a good mood. Why shouldn’t he be? He had a slave around the house to fuck and one to keep house. He could fire his maid, which meant he was saving money.

“I’ve finished unpacking the boxes, sir. Thank you for… for letting me have them.”

Hart shook his head. “It’s nothing you need thank me for, dear boy. They were your belongings; you _should_ have them.”

“Thank you,” Eggsy repeated. “Is, um, is there anything else you need from me, Mr. Hart?”

Hart watched him for a moment before smiling; Eggsy… wasn’t sure how to take the smile. He motioned to a chair. “Why don’t you relax?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yes, sir.” He bit his lip. “Sir… is it… would it be alright if I… worked on this down here…?” He brought the bag out from behind his back. It was full of the broken CD pieces and the picture he’d been making. “I can take it upstairs if it’s a bother, sir. But… if-if I work on it down here, then I’m right here when you need something.”

“Eggsy, for the time being, you live here. This is your _home_. If you want to work on that down here or upstairs, it’s entirely your choice.” He paused. "You don't need to make yourself available to me."

“Thank you, sir.”

He went over to the chair, and he _certainly_ was not scurrying. He _didn’t_ scurry. Or… he told himself he didn’t scurry, anyway. He sat cross legged in the chair and put the bag on the arm. He carefully got out his glue and the paper.

“You are allowed to use the coffee table,” Harry said softly.

Eggsy looked at him uncertainly, and then started picking through the bag. He found a good sized piece and started snapping it. He laid the pieces on the paper and started looking for where to put them.

“May I ask what you’re making?”

Eggsy shrugged. “‘unno. Just… kinda seeing if I can get them to all fit together.”

“So… sort of a free-form puzzle, then?”

Eggsy considered and then nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Just… a shiny one.”

“What sort of puzzles do you like the best?”

Eggsy shrugged and started gluing one of the pieces down. “I only had one ever. Dean got rid of it cos he was kinda pissed off at me.” He paused, looking at the pieces again. “It was a forest scene and lots of pieces.”

Harry nodded to himself. Nature scenes and puzzles with a lot of pieces would be easy to find. So would a puzzle board, for that matter. He silently watched Eggsy as he found spots for two more pieces.

“Eggsy… I hope you realize that if you want anything, all you need do is ask.”

Harry saw the fae stiffen and a look of pure suspicion cross his face. But when Eggsy looked over at him, he offered Harry a soft, servile smile.

“I don’t need nothin’, Mr. Hart.”

“Surely you must _want_ something.”

The look of suspicion was back. Harry said nothing as Eggsy watched him; as Eggsy searched his face for a sign of… well, Harry wasn’t certain _what_ exactly. Maybe some sign that it was a trap, or a test, or… whatever else he might think.

After several long moments, Eggsy shrugged and looked away. “If I do, I’ll let you know, Mr. Hart.”

Harry took that to mean that there _was_ something Eggsy wanted. He didn’t push the issue; he just nodded once. “Please do tell me if you think of something. I’d like you to be happy.”

Eggsy kept from scoffing or rolling his eyes. Part of it was simply out of survival. Scoffing at his owner was a _good_ way to get beat. But part of it was cos Hart had… well… been kinda good to him so far. He figured it was just cos it was the first day and once he got settled in, Hart would be more of a hardarse.

But… he thought it was a good deal, even if (well, _when_ ) Hart started beating him regularly. No more having to scam humans. Hart was, apparently, going to keep him fed. Sure that was probably cos he was trying to keep Merlin convinced that he wasn’t a total arsehole, but he’d still be eating more than he did at Dean’s shop. And… he was being allowed to entertain himself in the lounge and not just… be banished to his room for most of the day, every day.

He shifted his eyes to Hart for a moment. The human had gone back to reading something on his mobile. Eggsy kept glancing at them as he broke up another piece. Hart had a hand on Merlin’s thigh and the selkie was smiling lightly. If he didn’t know better, he’d actually think Merlin was happy with Harry. He shrugged inwardly; whatever it took for the selkie to keep sane, he supposed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know if you play Amnesia: Memories, but there's a spirit in the game named Orion, and he made a comment that was just so fae!Eggsy that I had to share it with y'all.
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 
> 
> I tried to make these into footnotes so they'd be easy to get to, but I can't make the return to text work. So here's reference pictures if you need them:  
> [Bluebells](https://images.plurk.com/6y3MSi6JBaZQcgOEsMeud1.jpg)  
> [Spanish Bluebells](https://images.plurk.com/3wDAnHrkGV94PRmRZysfP9.jpg)  
> [Toca Sleigh Bells](https://images.plurk.com/3abYYBHvZ5Y03Zs9MoRqml.jpg)  
> [Oak Planter](https://images.plurk.com/7Gq5G6Xp7nkTU1YybqF19S.jpg)  
> [Blue Emperor Butterfly](https://images.plurk.com/XWoQef4jpkIBvXWKBduNM.jpg)
> 
> And have a [side-by-side](https://images.plurk.com/2dSdb5RUCMv3tQDdp35eBP.png) of normal color vision vs Harry's color vision.  
> 

01

Eggsy woke up well before Harry and Merlin in the morning. He lay in his bed, listening intently, until he heard their alarm go off. He heard one of them head into the bathroom, but didn’t hear the other one moving. He waited until he heard the first one go back into the bedroom and the other one go into the bathroom before heading downstairs.

He quietly made his way into the kitchen; he put the kettle on and started making himself some toast. The water was boiling by the time his toast was ready; he made himself some tea and went to the dining room table. His tea had just finished steeping when Harry came downstairs.

“The water should still be hot, Mr. Hart.”

“Thank you, dear boy,” he said as he passed by him.

“I could make you somethin’... I mean,” he shrugged and then muttered, “I c’n make toast.”

“That’s quite alright,” he said as he started making his own tea. “I’m having a meeting over breakfast this morning.” He paused. “Although, if you would _like_ to have breakfast in the morning with Merlin and I, we can certainly start doing that.”

“That’s up to you, Mr. Hart.”

Harry came back out of the kitchen, a cup of steeping tea in hand, and he took a seat at the table. “Well, if you decide _you_ would like it, please let us know.”

“Yes, Mr. Hart.” Eggsy wasn’t certain if that was a subtle hint that he _should_ tell Hart he wanted to have breakfast with them or if it… really _was_ up to him.

He watched Eggsy for a moment. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to send someone over today. Her name is Roxy and I thought she could take you shopping.”

Eggsy nodded. “Of course, Mr. Hart.”

Harry smiled gently. “It’s only if you would like to go.”

“I’ll go, sir.” He didn’t really think he had a choice and… going shopping with this Roxy would mean he’d be out of the house. That wasn’t something Dean had let him do often, so he jumped on the chance whenever it came up.

Harry watched him for a moment and then nodded. It would be some time before the fae would be willing to offer up his own preferences on things. Hopefully spending some time with Roxy would help. 

It was only a few minutes before Merlin joined them. Despite the shower, he was clearly not entirely awake yet. He mumbled something that _might_ have been a morning greeting at the pair as he walked by them. He got a cup of coffee brewed, poured some milk into it, and went to join Harry and Eggsy.

“The car will be here in about ten minutes.”

Merlin made an acknowledging sound as he started on his coffee. Normally he got up before Harry, but this morning he just had _not_ wanted to wake up. Seals were notorious for sleeping most of the day, and every so often, that side of his nature reared its head. It was only experience that got him out of bed on those days. Experience, and Harry bugging him until he got up.

“Do you want me to make you another coffee, Merlin?”

Merlin looked over at Eggsy and shook his head. “I have another coffee maker in my office.”

Harry smiled a little at Eggsy calling Merlin by name and not ‘sir’. He had a feeling that a lot of it was because Merlin wasn’t human, wasn’t the same type of threat that he was in Eggsy’s mind. Still, it was nice to hear. If he could learn to accept that Merlin wasn’t a threat, he might be willing to open up to him. If he could get to that point, they might be able to figure out what Chester had on him.

02

It was a little before one when there was a knock on the door. Eggsy assumed it would be the woman Harry was sending over and grabbed the spare key on the way to the door. He opened it and looked at the woman Harry had sent. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was petite and had mid-length brown hair that was pulled back in a tail. She wore a pair of tortoise shell glasses that had side shields.

“Roxy?”

She grinned. “That’s me. You must be Eggsy.”

“Yeah.”

She nodded toward her car. “Shall we then?”

She drove them a bit away from Harry's house. Eggsy had seen very little of London despite having lived in the city for twenty years. He'd rarely traveled far from where he'd lived with his dad and he'd only had one place he was allowed to go when he was living with Dean. So when she parked outside of a store, he had no idea what type it was.

"I do have a partial list of what Harry feels we should get, but I have instructions that you're you get whatever else catches your fancy."

Eggsy frowned a little as he followed her inside, and stopped once he saw what was on the shelves. There were puzzles everywhere. And not just jigsaw puzzles, either. There were wooden and metal brain teasers and ball mazes. The 3D ball mazes drew his attention; he picked one up and started working the little metal ball around the passages and down the drops. It appealed to his need for mental stimulation. He barely even noticed when Roxy put one of each in the trolley. 

"What else would you like?" she asked after a minute. 

He set the maze down like it was hot, and then noticed the trolley. Aside from the mazes, there was a puzzle board and several jigsaw puzzles. They all had a high number of pieces and were nature scenes. 

"I…"

"It's whatever you want, Eggsy."

They wandered around for a while. Every time Eggsy paused to look at something, Roxy encouraged him to put it in the trolley. Eggsy stopped her after the tenth puzzle. He was already gonna be into Hart for all of this as it was. He followed her up to the register and watched as everything was rung up. And then he stepped around her, intending to enchant the clerk but she nudged him out of the way.

“So like a man to try and insist on paying, isn’t it?” she laughed as she slid a card - Harry’s - through the reader.

“I coulda-”

“I know what you ‘coulda’,” she teased. “Harry’s instructions were for _me_ to take care of it. Well, with his card, anyway.”

Eggsy nodded. He wasn’t sure _why_ Hart wanted him to be in debt to him, not when Hart already had something much more dear over him, but he was certain it wasn’t for any good reason. He picked up two of the bags, leaving the third for Roxy, and followed her out to her car.

“Do you miss it, forests and such?” she asked, opening the boot.

Eggsy shrugged. He was quiet for a few moments before actually answering her. “Yeah, kinda.”

She smiled a little while he put his bags in. “I think we’ll make another stop then.”

He eyed her curiously as they got back into the car. “So why you doin’ Hart’s dirty work for him?”

She gave him a curious, uncertain look. “What do you mean?”

“He ain’t got a good reason for doin’ this.”

She laughed softly. “He wants you to have things to do; that’s all. You _can_ trust him.”

Eggsy scoffed. “Humans can’t be trusted.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You met my step-dad the day you met Harry. You took a bracelet from him?”

He looked out the window and rolled his eyes. “Cos I had to.”

“Mm. That bracelet is his pledge bracelet from his wife. Until King bound him, she and their family lived a bit east of Aldeburgh.”

Eggsy shook his head. “Where the fuck is that?”

“East coast.” She grinned. “My step-dad’s a siren.”

“Your mum know?”

“Nope. Mum died when I was little, buy my father knows.”

Eggsy flushed lightly. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “No need to be.”

“So he’s alright with that? Bein’ married to one of us?”

She grinned. “Well, I’ll let you in on a secret.” She paused. “My father _is_ ‘one of us’.”

Eggsy looked over at her. “You ain’t human?”

“Half.”

Eggsy nodded. “So Hart made you do this.”

She shook her head. “No, he _asked_ if I would. As far as that goes, I’m still working to get into Kingsman and my father was never bound. My step-father was, but Harry set him free.”

Eggsy scoffed. “Sure.”

She didn’t push the issue. She knew the only reason the non-human members of Kingsman trusted Harry was because they’d known him for so long and they’d seen the steps he’d taken to correct what King had done.

03

She pulled into a parking space and nodded out the window. He looked out and saw they were at a garden centre and then looked away almost uncomfortably. He could feel her watching him and he shrugged.

“You sure he’ll be alright with it?”

“Mmhmm.” She paused. “You’ll like having some plants around the house, won’t you?”

He nodded.

“Will it make you more comfortable?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. Probably?”

“Then he’ll be _happy_.”

He considered for a moment and then got out of the car. She followed him into the garden centre. He stopped once they were inside and tipped his head back at the smell of the flowers and dirt. It had been _so long_ since he’d been home and the smells were filling him with a deep, painful homesickness. 

Roxy put a hand on his shoulder after a moment and he nodded with a soft sigh. He went over to the plants and looked around for a bit. He ran his fingers, gently, along the petals of the flowers he looked at. Some were silky smooth, others were almost velvety.

He saw several planters of bluebells and grinned a little to himself. There was a definite association between the violet flowers and the fae. But his family had lived deep in a forest and he’d seen more ferns than bluebells. It had been intentional on their part; it kept them safer.

“There’s Spanish bluebells, too,” Roxy offered.

He looked over at them. Their ‘bells’ were shorter and more flared. Their stems stood almost straight; it made them look a bit like toca sleigh bells. And they weren’t violet; they were a soft shade of purple that was nearly pink.

He took a few of each and put them in the basket Roxy had gotten. He found a few green plants to go with them and a pack of grass seeds. There were plenty of fillers for planters - rocks and moss mainly - but he wanted his flowers to have a more natural look and less of a planter look. And as he looked for a planter, he found one that appealed to that desire.

It was made to look like an oak log. Most of the top had been hollowed out so the plants would appear to be growing out of the log. He picked one up; it wasn’t terribly heavy and it would fit on top of the chest of drawers in the room… in his room. It would put it at the perfect height, too.

They went over to pay and Roxy paid again. They went back out to her car and put the box of plants in the backseat. The rest went in the boot with the other bags. Roxy turned to look over her shoulder as she was closing the boot; she’d heard someone approaching them. She didn’t like the look of him. It wasn’t just the loose hoodie and the loose jeans he was wearing. It was the very fact that he’d been approaching them.

“May I help you?” she asked.

He grinned as he closed the rest of the distance between them. “Yeah, you can give me your wallets.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes and started to move toward him, but Roxy put a hand on his arm to stop him. She took a step toward their would-be mugger and took her glasses off. His eyes widened in terror and he all but froze in place. Eggsy could hear his breath coming in rapid, shallow pants and saw the spreading wetness as the bloke pissed himself.

Roxy put her glasses back on and smiled at Eggsy. “Shall we off?”

He got in the car, staring at her. He waited until she was driving before saying anything. “The fuck did you do to him?”

“Technically, I petrified him,” she said with a little smirk. “My father can do the whole turn them to stone bit if he wants. He isn’t certain if I’ll ever be able to, but I find what I _can_ do to be quite useful.”

He was still staring at her. “Ain’t…” He shook his head. “Ain’t people like you got, like, snakes for hair or some shit like that?”

She chuckled. “Ones from Greece still do a lot of the time. The theory is that, as we came farther north, our more reptilian aspects ended up mutating and were bred out. Honestly, I’d hate to have a head full of snakes. Can you imagine how much they’d complain in summer, much less winter?”

He laughed. “Would you even be able to understand their hissing?”

“You know, I’ve no idea, but I expect the constant hissing would get it across as much as anything else.”

He grinned at her; he really liked her. She wasn’t bad for a half-human, but then she had two non-human parents. He had to wonder _why_ she wanted to work for Kingsman. He would have asked her if he didn’t think she’d just give him the party line about it helping both humans and non-humans. Cos that was shit, utter shit. And Hart could send every selkie and gorgon and fae and whatever the fuck else to tell him that Kingsman and Hart were wonderful. He wasn’t gonna buy it. Ever.

04

She took him home and helped him get his puzzles put away while he took the plants and planter up to his room. By the time he’d come down, she’d gotten the jigsaw puzzles stored in the entryway closet on the shelf and the puzzle board had been slipped behind Harry’s bookshelf. She was getting the 3D mazes out of their boxes and setting them on their stands, and on Harry's bookshelf, when he came back down.

He didn’t say anything about it; he just helped her get the rest out of the boxes and on the bookshelf. But once she was gone, he moved them over to Merlin’s bookshelf. He went back upstairs to get his plants set up and watered. He didn’t really like how they looked with just the dirt around them, but knew it would only be a matter of days before they were surrounded with green. He made sure they had adequate light and then went back downstairs. He cleaned what little there was to clean and then, somewhat hesitantly, got the puzzle board and a puzzle out. 

He was still working on it when Harry came home. He expected the human to be irritated with him, but Harry just smiled at the sight and joined him in the lounge. Eggsy kept taking quick glances at Harry, but the human was, essentially, ignoring him. That should have relieved him, but it only made him more antsy, mostly because he didn’t know what silence meant from Harry.

“Is there somethin’ you want me to do, Mr. Hart?”

Harry looked up from his mobile and the article he’d been reading. “Not at all. Why do you ask?”

Eggsy shrugged. “You just… I dunno.”

Harry watched him for a moment. “Is there something you’d _like_ to do?”

He flushed lightly and shook his head. “No, sir.”

Harry nodded and went back to the article he was reading. Once he was finished, he moved onto a second but didn’t read it. After a moment, he lowered his mobile.

“Eggsy, if I were to ask you something, would you give me an honest answer?”

Eggsy tensed. “I…” He swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I’m happy you’re willing to do that,” he smiled. “If I wanted to hire you to do some work at Kingsman, would you consider it?”

“Hire me?” Eggsy scoffed before he could stop himself.

“Yes. You would be paid at the same rate as any contractor we hire, and it would take… perhaps a week.”

“And you’re… gonna pay me for this.”

Harry nodded. “There is a storage closet that is full of boxes of files from Chester’s time in charge. The boxes I’ve looked through seem to have been filled at random and there’s nothing to let me know what’s actually inside of them. Primarily, I need the dossiers out of them, but I _would_ like the rest to be organized.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment before shrugging. He didn’t really think Hart was going to pay him. He figured the human would come up with something; that he was providing food and shelter; that he’d paid for the puzzles and plants.

“Yeah, that sounds alright.”

“Alright. The part that you might object to is that the storage closet is inside the Vault.” He saw Eggsy tense up. “If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. I _can_ contract someone else; it’s not a problem.”

“No, I’ll… I’ll do it, sir.”

He smiled at Eggsy. “Thank you, and if you decide you _don’t_ want to do it, just tell me. You won’t be in trouble; I won’t be angry.”

He said it so simply, so _calmly_ , that Eggsy was almost tempted to believe him. But he didn’t; he _couldn’t_. His dad had trusted humans, and look where that had gotten him. He should have listened to his mum and not gone into human areas.

05

It was a few hours later when Merlin came home. He stepped into the lounge doorway, a very pleased grin threatening to break through. Harry watched him for a moment. It was rare to see Merlin so openly excited by something. That told him that Merlin had managed some new tech breakthrough, one that likely had been frustrating him for months. It made him _very_ curious because Merlin tended to keep his experiments close to the vest.

“Yes, darling?”

“Come with me for a minute.”

Harry got up and followed him. Merlin led him to the downstairs toilet, and Eggsy lingered in the lounge doorway. He was curious about what Merlin was up to, especially since Harry had seemed maybe a little surprised by Merlin’s excitement.

“Close your eyes.”

Harry tipped his head slightly, curious about where this was going, but then he closed his eyes and let Merlin lead him. He heard the toilet door open and was quite aware that he was being guided to stand in the doorway. He felt Merlin take his hand and press something into it.

“Put those on and then open your eyes.”

Harry felt what he’d been given, not surprised after Merlin’s words to find it was a pair of glasses. He put them on and felt along the left side frame for the tiny button to activate them. He pushed it and then opened his eyes. And then he took a shuddery gasp.

“I take it they work?”

Harry walked into the room and put his hand on Mr. Pickle. He could see him, _clearly_ , and he was colourful. He’d never realized the dog was _wheaten_ and grey. He’d thought Mr. Pickle was dark and light grey. He pet the taxidermied dog; he’d only been able to see him in the mirror for _so_ long.

“Hello, Mr. Pickle,” he said softly.

He turned around to look at Merlin, and he sighed a breath. Merlin was still bright, but it was almost a glow coming from within him. The room around him was in full, beautiful colour and yet he still stood out. Harry looked around the room in awe. It was almost like looking at a human with magical blood, although they were a bit more saturated than what he was seeing. He looked over at Eggsy and could see his bright glow clearly.

“Yes, they work,” he breathed. “I can still tell that you’re bright but…” He shook his head. “Everything looks… magical.”

Merlin grinned. “Yeh’ve _no_ idea how hard this was to pull off without asking you to test them. Honestly wasn’t sure it _would_ work.”

“How _did_ you test them?”

“There’s two human agents who’re colourblind.”

Harry shook his head. “Brilliant way to do it.”

Eggsy frowned a little. “What d’you mean he’s ‘bright’, Mr. Hart? And that everything looks ‘magical’?”

“I don’t see a lot of colour. In humans with magical blood, I see them… about normal, apparently. Non-humans, like yourself and Merlin, are bright. I never really could describe it. I would have almost called it an aura, but… seeing things in normal colour, it’s more like you’re glowing from within.”

Eggsy nodded slowly. “I see. And… Mr. Pickle?”

“I can’t see the dead. I can sort of make myself see them, if I focus on them long enough. But…” He shook his head. “I haven’t _really_ seen Mr. Pickle in… twenty years or so.”

“Oh,” Eggsy said feeling a little numb. “C’n I ask you somethin’, sir?”

“Of course.”

“That day at the shop. Did I… even affect you?”

Harry frowned slightly. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Jus’ curious.” Eggsy shrugged. “I’m gonna… go check on my plants. ‘s alright if I leave the puzzle where it is?”

“Of course.”

Harry and Merlin watched him go upstairs and listened until they heard his door open and close. Harry shut the glasses off - discovering in the process that they hadn’t needed to be turned on - and put them in his suit coat pocket.

“Yer not gonna keep ‘em on?”

He shook his head. “It’s making me feel uneasy and I’m not sure why.”

“Maybe you can ask Eggsy.”

Harry nodded. “He recognized something about me. Lee did, as well, although he didn’t seem so…”

“Afraid?”

“Yes, that. I never got around to asking him about it before he died.”

Merlin looked up at the stairwell for a moment. “If I can earn his trust, I’ll ask him what it is.”

 

06

Eggsy was surprised that he managed to get back to his bedroom without running. He closed the door and leaned against his, trying to keep himself from hyperventilating; to keep himself from giving in to the panic building inside of him. He clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle a panicked sob before it could escape him and he slid to the floor.

_He had been very young and curled up in a nest of living leaves. Little branches had been bent to form the nest. He was small enough - just a bit bigger than an eight week old kitten - that the branches would spring back in the morning. His mum was sitting on the branches just beside his nest for the night. She was the size of a house cat, giant and terrifying compared to the tiny faeries they sometimes saw._

_“Want a story, mama.”_

_She laughed softly, her wings fluttering with her amusement. They were shaped like the wings of a blue emperor butterfly. They were a soft blue with a violet edge and pink at the tips; her skin was the same shade of blue._

_“About what, my little one?”_

_“The_ an-drixtā-kalamon _!” he said, tripping a little over the phrase._

_She frowned, pink eyes flashing brightly for a moment. “Who told you about the Darkstalkers?”_

_“I heard some of the old ones talking about them.”_

_She sighed. “Baby, it’ll give you nightmares.”_

_“Nu-uh!”_

_She considered for a moment. It had been a long time since they’d seen one, long enough that only the old ones would remember seeing them. Most of the ones her age believed them to be just a boogeyman, but_ she _believed in them._

_“They are humans, sort of. The great faeries kidnapped them and made them breed with low ranking members of their courts. They were made to be hunters for the great ones. They did what’s called ‘selective breeding’ to try and turn the humans into what they want.”_

_“Ooooh.” His wings fluttered with excitement and his pink eyes were wide._

_“Over time, they stopped really seeing colour, which is what their masters wanted. They hunted at night, and they wouldn’t need it. But… they still see each other in colour and we glow.”_

_“We glow?”_

_“Mmhmm. That way they can see us at night, and find us no matter where we hide. And then…”_

_He wiggled a little with excitement and anticipation. “What? What happens next?”_

_“They don’t kill us, and if they do, they leave us cos we’re not worth anything to them dead._ Some _say they can’t see us anymore if we’re dead and that’s why they leave the dead ones. The ones they capture alive they bring back to the great faeries. They drain these…” She touched under his jaw, pressing lightly on the little glands that made the fluid they aspirated to gain temporary control of another. “I don’t know what they do with it, but once they’ve drained all they can, so much that their victims can’t make anymore… they kill us and their hunters burn the body.”_

_Eggsy shrieked and hid in the leaves. Their people had very deep, nearly religious belief in what should be done with their bodies after death. Burning the body was almost the worst thing that could be done._

_Lee, hearing the shriek, fluttered up from where he’d been and landed on the other side of Eggsy. “What’s wrong?”_

_“They_ burn the bodies _!”_

 _Lee sighed and looked at Michelle. “Did you_ have _to tell him about them?” He pushed the leaves aside and nuzzled Eggsy. “It’s alright, babe. They ain’t real.”_

 _Michelle frowned lightly but said nothing. She_ wanted _to argue the point; she wanted Eggsy to understand that these were real things. But he was afraid and he’d probably sleep better if he thought they weren’t real._

_“They ain’t?”_

_“Nope, they’re…” he winked. “…a fairy tale.”_

_That got him giggling and he settled in the nest. It wasn’t so scary if they were just a story. Just a ‘fairy tale’ like the humans called them._

_“You think you can sleep?”_

_“Uh-huh. They’re just pretend.”_

Only they _weren’t_ pretend. They were real, and Hart was one of them; Harry was the boogeyman they used to scare themselves silly with. And now he had to wonder what part in his dad’s fate Hart’d had. Had he caught him for King? Had he _helped_ King? He shuddered and hugged himself.

He couldn’t remember what the human who’d caught him had looked like. He’d been in a suit with the glasses the Kingsman people wore. But that was all he remembered. Humans had all just… sorta looked alike to him at the time. And he’d been kinda terrified.

And now he wondered... had it been Hart who’d broken in that day? Was he the man who’d taken him from his dad’s flat? Was Hart the man who’d turned him over to King?


	5. Chapter 5

01

Harry had been giving Eggsy his space, both metaphorically and physically, since Merlin had brought the glasses home. He stopped touching the fae on the shoulder every so often. As much as he thought gentle, physical contact might help build some level of trust between them, Eggsy startled, visibly, anytime he came into the room. He wanted to ask - _badly_ \- what Eggsy had realized about him, but the fae looked at him and saw Chester But Different. There was no way Eggsy would believe he didn’t know… whatever it was about himself that was so frightening.

And that brought up questions for him. There _were_ fae that worked in Kingsman, and they all knew how he saw things; it had never been a secret. But none of _them_ had ever reacted to him the way Eggsy had. Was it just because he’d been Chester’s protégé? Because he’d gone through the training program? And had Chester taken him under his wing solely because of what he was? Was that how Chester had been able to help him understand what he was seeing?

And those questions _hurt_. Because if Chester had known what he was… if Chester had already been laying plans… had he ever been anything more than a means to an end? A tool to be used and discarded? He’d thought Chester had decided to kill him because he was a threat to his mentor’s plans but… what if he’d just outlived his usefulness? The questions had circled his mind the entire weekend.

_He’d been in university when he’d met Chester. He’d finished his master’s and was a month away from starting on his doctorate. He’d been sitting in an open air café, enjoying an espresso and reading, when a shadow had fallen over him. He’d looked up to see a gentleman perhaps thirty years his senior. This gentleman was dressed in a very nice suit and wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and he was bright._

_“Might I join you?”_

_Harry studied the gentleman’s face for a moment before nodding. “Of course,” he said, motioning to the empty chair across from him._

_He held his hand out. “Chester King.”_

_Harry took the proffered hand and shook it. “Harry Hart.”_

_“Yes, I’m aware. Just as I’m aware that you’re planning on beginning your doctorate in entomology, with a focus on lepidoptery if I’m not mistaken.”_

_Harry faltered slightly. “I’m sorry, you seem to have me at a disadvantage.”_

_King smiled; at the time, it had felt as warm as a summer’s day. “I’ve been following your academic career for several years now. I must say, I find it more than adequate.”_

_Harry’s eyes narrowed slightly and he studied King’s face. He’d known he was adopted from a young age, and he’d never had any real desire to find his biological parents. But… what was he supposed to think when a man who was old enough to be his father appeared one day and knew things about him? And was apparently both following and pleased by his education?_

_King was a bit paler than he was; he had greying light brown hair while his own was much darker; King’s eyes were blue while his were brown. The only_ real _similarity Harry could see was in their hair. King kept it brushed back and all but plastered in place, but Harry could see the curls fighting to break free. His own hair did the same thing when he tried to tame it. It might take a few hours, but eventually, those curls would start to fight their way free._

_“Pleased you find it so,” Harry said, his words almost clipped._

_“I think you misunderstand me, dear boy. I represent an organisation that I believe could benefit from you.”_

_“Really? And what organisation is that?”_

_King took out a business card and handed it over. Harry read it, eyed King, and then read it again. He laughed softly before offering it back._

_“As much as I appreciate the offer, I doubt I’d make a decent tailor.”_

_King smiled again, but didn’t take the card. “Yes, I know you see very little in the way of colour, although I suspect you don’t have that problem with me.”_

_Harry sat back a little. “And how do you know that?”_

_“People like us find each other, Harry.”_

_“What do you mean, ‘people like us’?”_

_King smiled and stood up. “Come by the shop, and I’ll explain everything.”_

And Chester _had_ explained everything, after getting him to sign the Kingsman edition of a confidentiality agreement. He had requested a delay in his entrance for his doctorate and gone into Kingsman training, only to withdraw fully once he’d been named Galahad.

After getting into Kingsman, Harry saw how they monitored instances of non-humans and humans with magical blood. He’d just assumed that Chester had found him because he’d recognized that there was something non-human inside of him. And in thirty years, he had never had reason to doubt it; never had reason to wonder if Chester had known what was inside of him and had exploited it.

02

Harry gave Eggsy a couple weeks before bringing up the job at Kingsman again. Eggsy was still jumping when he came in the room, but he didn’t seem quite as frightened. Harry really wished he could ask him about it; wished he could ask Eggsy to just _tell_ him. But he knew Eggsy wouldn’t believe he didn’t already know.

He waited until breakfast on a Monday. He and Merlin had taken to making breakfast for the three of them so they could eat with Eggsy. It was a little thing, but they hoped it would help their relationship. There hadn’t been much of a change, not yet at least, but Eggsy _would_ , at least, offer a comment here and there in the conversations.

“If you were still willing, Eggsy, would you be alright with starting today?”

Eggsy startled and tensed up. He’d actually thought Hart had changed his mind, or maybe forgotten, or _something_. And he _had_ agreed to it… but right now, he wanted to refuse and not go anywhere near the Vault with Hart. Not that there was any point to refusing; he’d just end up doing it anyway.

“Yeah, I’ll start, sir.”

Harry watched him for a moment. “If I were to ask you something, would you give me an honest answer?”

Eggsy glanced at him and shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Would you tell me if you _didn’t_ want to do this?”

He tipped his head back a little as he thought about it. “Not a whole lotta reason to lie,” he said finally with a shrug. “I tell you I don’t wanna, you remind me what you got over me, I do it anyway. Or I do it willingly and have… some measure of choice in the matter.”

Harry frowned slightly. “It isn’t exactly a choice if you’re only doing it so you aren’t ordered to.”

Eggsy shrugged again. “It’s a fine line, I guess, but it’s as much choice as I’ll ever have.”

Harry and Merlin exchanged a look. Merlin nodded surreptitiously, just enough for Harry to know he’d done it. Harry stood up and took his mobile out.

“The car’s here. Merlin, would you mind taking care of my plate?”

“Not at all.”

He waited until Harry left and gathered up Harry’s dishes and his own. He nodded toward the kitchen and Eggsy followed suit. Merlin started rinsing the dishes off and then took Eggsy’s from him.

“I can tell Harry you’ve been sick. He won’t question it.”

Eggsy shook his head. “I ain’t puttin’ you in danger over this.”

Merlin smiled softly. “I won’t be.”

Eggsy shrugged. “I’d rather not risk it.”

Merlin debated pushing the point for a moment, but then let it drop. Eggsy wasn’t yet ready to ‘defy’ Harry. He’d just have to be patient until Eggsy _was_ ready. And hopefully, when he _was_ ready, he’d also be able to see that Harry wasn’t trying to keep him as a servant. But first, they’d have to convince Eggsy that Harry wasn’t a threat to him.

Merlin had hoped that he could find out something about fae and people with Harry’s sort of vision, but he’d found nothing. That, in and of itself, was suspicious to him. Myths _always_ made it into written form. They might be very different from the original by the time they did, but a human that could frighten fae ought to have stood out _somewhere_.

After the night he gave Harry the glasses, Merlin had gone to every fae in Kingsman and asked about it. There _had_ been a few out of contact at the time, but he’d since had a chance to speak with all of them. None of them knew anything. It made him want to ask Eggsy what manner of fae he was, but he doubted Eggsy would tell him. He would have liked to keep up his research, but there were too many other things he had to see to this week.

The mystery would simply have to remain for now.

03

Merlin went down to the Vault with Harry and Eggsy. He thought it might put Eggsy a little more at ease. He wasn’t sure how effective it would be, not with Eggsy believing that Harry was keeping them both prisoners. 

And Eggsy _seemed_ calm enough, although Merlin could see the signs of his fright. He had his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans; that would allow him to defend himself if need be. His shoulders were rolled forward slightly in an attempt to make himself smaller; it wasn’t enough for him to be slouching but enough for Merlin to notice it. And he would not look at Harry.

They went to the Vault and Harry unlocked it. He led Eggsy through it, letting the fae take in the fewer shelves and the fewer items. He let it - hopefully - be silent testament to the fact that he _was_ freeing people. He led Eggsy past his ‘home’, where the iron cells had been. They were gone now; Harry’d had them ripped out. There was a door just beyond where they’d been and Harry opened it before turning to Eggsy.

“This is-” He stopped; Eggsy’s face was nearly white. “Are you alright? You really don’t have to do this, Eggsy. I won’t be upset and you won’t be in trouble.”

“It’s…” He swallowed hard, trying to keep the fear down. “It’s just…”

“Being so close to where Chester had you locked away?”

Something Harry couldn’t quite identify flashed in Eggsy’s eyes and then the fae nodded. “Yeah. That’s… all it is.”

Harry smiled gently. “Anytime you need a break, please take one, even if you need the leave the Vault to do it. The door unlocks from the inside and I can very easily come unlock it for you if and when you’re ready to start again.”

“Yes, sir.” Eggsy took a couple tentative steps forward, but couldn’t yet make himself go into the side room. He could, however, see the boxes. There were a lot of them, but there would still be plenty of room for him to move about. “D’you want me to just bring you dossiers as I fill a box or d’you want me to organize them first?”

Harry considered for a moment. “I think it would be most helpful if you organized them first, and then you’ll only need to bring me a single box when you’ve finished and I can come for others as I need them.”

Eggsy nodded. “I ain’t… so sure I can finish it all today.”

Harry smiled gently. “I’m not expecting you to, Eggsy. I would rather you take whatever time you need and not rush yourself.”

Eggsy eyed him for a minute, trying to see if Hart meant it or if the creature was just fuckin’ with him. He wasn’t sure, at all, because Hart _looked_ like he meant it, but he didn’t trust the thing. Still… if Hart _meant_ it, that meant he could drag it out a little...Maybe even convince Hart that he was more valuable alive and in his possession than turned over to his masters.

“I’ll… take the time I need then, sir.”

“Good man,” Harry said. “Do you know where my office is if you need anything?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah. I was up there a couple times with Mr. King. I remember how to get there.”

“Then we’ll leave you to it.”

Eggsy watched as Harry and Merlin left. He heard the Vault door open and close, and he shuddered. He gave a slow count of sixty and went over to the door. He pressed the button and the door slid open. He sighed softly, relieved that he _could_ bolt from the room if he needed to. Hart would probably be angry at it, but the option _was_ there.

He let the door slide shut again and started slowly going over every shelf. He wasn’t _really_ expecting Hart to have left it out where he could get at it, but he _had_ to look. Just as he’d _had_ to look through Hart’s home office. When he reached the last shelving unit and still hadn’t found it, he went back to the side room.

He stood outside of it and shuddered again. There _were_ worse things than the iron cell. There was _this_ room. This room that hadn’t been storage when he’d been living in the Vault. The room had been a room of pain; a room of screams that still echoed in his mind. He imagined he could smell the blood and the fear. He knew _that_ was in his mind; it had been too long for the scents to still be lingering. 

He forced himself through the doorway, cringing as if he expecting the pain to start. He took a couple slow, deep breaths to try and steady himself. He looked at the boxes and started moving them away from one wall. That would allow him space to start organizing files, and if he just focused on the work, he could ignore the fear.

04

He’d been working for a couple hours when he heard the Vault door open. He’d only gotten through six of the boxes; some of the files hadn’t really been labeled well and he’d had to read through them to figure out what they were. He really hoped Hart would be pleased with his progress, or not be angry, at least.

But it wasn’t Harry who stopped outside the door; it was Merlin. He had a drink in each hand and offered one to Eggsy. Eggsy took it and looked around the storage room. There really… wasn’t any place to put it.

Merlin smiled at him and nodded toward the main room of the Vault. “Harry wanted to be sure you took some breaks.”

“I ain’t got much done though…”

Merlin shook his head and went into the main room. He waited until Eggsy followed him. “Harry thought you might be concerned about that.”

Eggsy looked toward the Vault door. “Mr. Hart ain’t with you…?”

“Harry let me in and then went back to work. He knows he makes you uncomfortable.”

Eggsy shook his head and shrugged. “D’you really blame me?”

Merlin watched him for a moment. “I don’t… know anything about what Harry is, aside from how he sees.”

Eggsy scoffed and rolled his eyes. Of _course_ Hart hadn’t told his pet selkie anything. But it wasn’t like Hart’s masters gave a fuck about selkies. Just… his kind. “If you was livin’ with an orca, would _you_ be comfortable around him?”

Merlin took a breath and let it out slowly. He’d realized Eggsy had seen Harry as a threat, both before and after the realization, but Merlin hadn’t realized that Eggsy now saw Harry as a _predator_ ; that this wasn’t just his belief that Harry owned him plus his fear about the threat Harry presented. He knew that so long as Eggsy believed that Harry was the predator and he the prey, Eggsy would never believe he wasn’t Harry’s slave.

And that brought up a _new_ worry. If Eggsy felt that he was prey but he was currently more valuable as a slave, would he _ever_ be willing to ‘defy’ Harry? Would he look at it as needing to remain ‘useful’ in Harry’s eyes in order to stay safe? It was no wonder Eggsy hadn't been willing to refuse the job. 

"I'm going to head back up," Merlin said. "I'll… I'll tell Harry you're doing well down here."

Eggsy have Merlin a grateful smile. “He won’t…”

Merlin shook his head. “He _is_ expecting it to take all week.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah… I just… thought…”

Merlin smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Harry is straightforward, especially when it comes to Kingsman. If he says he expects a job to take a week, he expects it will take a week.”

“So… if I drag it out to a week…”

“You’ll be taking the exact time Harry expects.”

Eggsy grinned a little, shyly. It made Merlin happy to see it. He wondered if there were other ways they could ‘get around’ what Harry wanted. It would give them a bonding point, at least until Eggsy was able to see the truth.

05

It was a few hours later when Eggsy heard the Vault door open again. He’d only gotten through two more boxes. It wasn’t because he was intentionally dragging it out. It was because none of the files in those boxes had anything labeling them. So he was having to read through them a bit to figure out _what_ they were.

He assumed it was Merlin coming down again, to make sure he took another break. He closed the file he’d been looking through and set it back in the box. He went out into the main area and smiled a little when he saw Roxy.

“What’re you doin’ down here?”

“I finished with my tests for the day, so I told Arthur I was going to stop by the house and take you out. He told me you were down here, so…” she held up a bag. “I got us lunch.”

“An’ it was your idea…?”

She laughed softly and nodded. “Yes, it was my idea.”

He smiled a little and went to join her. She spread their lunch out on the little table; it was sandwiches and crisps. They talked while they ate and Eggsy found it easy to relax around her. Well, eas _ier_ than it had been the first time. Maybe because she actually seemed to enjoy his company. He actually… kinda believed it had been her idea to spend time with him.

He expected her to leave when they were done, but she cleaned up and then went into the storage room. He had growing piles of folders along one side of the room. There were piles for the prisoner dossiers; he’d been organizing them in five year spans from 1990 on. There were a few other piles; financial records that we _not_ part of Kingsman, dossiers on his contacts, and files on different non-human creatures.

She looked the piles over and then the boxes. “You don’t mind the help, do you?”

Eggsy laughed softly. “You know I got a week to do it, right?”

She shrugged. “It’ll be a little nicer with company, don’t you think?”

He shook his head, grinning. “Just make sure Hart pays you.”

She grinned. “I’ll make sure he does.”

She took off her suit coat and laid it over one of the taller stacks of boxes. She unbuttoned the cuffs of her shirt and carefully rolled them up. There was soft down along the underside of her arms, and Eggsy stared at it for a moment.

“We share a common ancestor with winged serpents. It’s one of the mutations.” She shrugged. “I don’t think any of us have the actual wings, just the down. It _is_ meant to be insulation, after all, and we did need to be able to fight the cold.”

Eggsy chuckled. “Ain’t gonna do much good.”

“No, it really doesn’t,” she grinned. “Where should I start?”

“A lot of this shit ain’t labeled. Go through and find the shit that is?”

She nodded. “Will do, boss,” she winked.

He went back to the box he’d been working his way through and she got a box for herself. They talked a bit as they worked, and it wasn’t long before they were laughing. Eggsy liked it; he’d never had something like this when he’d worked for Dean. But then… he’d been handed to Dean as a slave.

“Ugh.” She sighed irritably and put the box she’d been going through on top of the _last_ one she’d gone through. “Nothing. Nothing in this is labeled.”

“How many’s in that one?”

“Five.” She shook her head. “How did he keep track of anything?”

“Well, the financial shit is a year at a time. I’m guessin’ he packed them away after.”

She rolled her eyes. “That _does_ sound right. He could even keep them in his office that way.” She put the box on top of the last one and went to a different stack. She picked the top one up, expecting it to be about as heavy as the others. It was quite a bit lighter, and the distribution felt different.

“Odd,” she said quietly.

“What is?”

She shook her head, making a softly curious and negative sound. She set it where she’d been working and took the top off. Her eyes widened and she slammed the top back on the box, and then she _stared_ at the box for a moment.

“Rox? You alright?”

“I…” She shook her head as if to clear it. “I have to take this to Arthur.”

He watched as she took the box out of the room. “Rox?” He followed her out. “What is it? You know Mr. Hart don’t want these until I’m done, yeah?”

She paused and looked at him. “He. He’ll want to see this.” She forced a smile. “And don’t worry. I’ll make certain he knows it was me.”

She hurried out of the Vault. Eggsy watched her rush off. He was half-tempted to follow after her, but she was going to _Hart’s office_. He went back into the storage room and started in on the files in the boxes Roxy had been looking through.

06

Merlin was in Arthur’s office, giving him an update on the day’s activities. It wasn’t a slow going thing - most of what he was reporting was standard - but it was a rather lengthy list. He was halfway through it when loud, rapid knocking started on the office door.

Harry’s brow rose. He kept his update time regularly scheduled so that he could avoid this sort of overlap and distraction. He nodded once and Merlin went to the door. Roxy rushed in the moment the door was open.

“Ms. Morton, I know you don’t know the regular schedule here, yet, but-”

“I’m sorry, Arthur, this couldn’t wait.”

Harry eyed her curiously. She’d been raised by two members of Kingsman; she knew if something ‘couldn’t wait’, it _had_ to be something that truly could not wait. He nodded to Merlin, who closed the door, and then turned his attention to Roxy.

“I’m listening.”

She set the box on his desk and took the top off. Harry stood and looked inside. He saw a stand with a branch, but nothing else. Although… he could almost see a blur on it. He took his normal glasses off and got the second pair out of his suit coat’s inner pocket. He closed his eyes for a moment and put them on. It was so _disorientating_ to see everything in full, clear colour. He looked down at the box and hissed a breath. Because he could see it now. He could see the creature that had been taxidermied and mounted on the branch. He gently lifted it out of the box and set it on his desk.

It was light, and understandably so; an animal that had been been put through such a process was inevitably lighter than it had been in life. It was a bit odd looking, but it was beautiful. It was a lizard of some variety; it’s skin was nearly violet and it had the wings similar to an emperor butterfly. They were also nearly violet, with the edges being such a dark shade of it that they were nearly black. There were soft pink streaks at the top and bottom of the wings. It had a pink crest behind its head and a spiny pink crest down its neck, back, and to its tail, which ended in a sharp looking spike. It was highly muscled and had very sharp looking teeth. Its limbs each ending in a four-toed claw. It was scarred in a number of places, most prominently on its chest; that one had been a large wound and Harry wondered if that was what had killed it.

“It’s beautiful,” Harry said softly. “But what is it?”

He didn’t bother asking _why_ it had been preserved in this way. Chester had done it; whatever the reason, Chester had done it.

“I have no idea,” Merlin said. “A dragon, I would think.”

Harry’s brow rose. “One the size of a cat and having butterfly wings?”

Merlin shrugged slightly. “There _are_ small dragons, but I admit I have never heard of one with wings like that.”

“I made sure Eggsy didn’t see it,” Roxy said. “I… didn’t think it would be good for him.”

Harry nodded. “Thank you.” He leaned down to examine it. “With the way the tail is wrapped around the branch and with the spike at the end, I would think it was prehensile. And look at the way the claws are. It has opposable thumbs. And it’s…”

“Harry?”

Harry shook his head and straightened up. “It’s familiar somehow.”

“Perhaps you saw one when you were young.”

“That’s possible.” He looked at Roxy. “Thank you for bringing this to me.”

Merlin tapped his glasses and very slowly turned the little creature around in a full circle. “I’ll show the image to the dragonkin we have on staff. It’s possible that one of them knows something about this species.”

“Let me know what you find,” Harry said. “And should one of them know something, see if they know how to contact a member of this species. We should… find out how they inter their dead. I can’t leave it like this.”

Merlin nodded. “I’ll take care of it, Arthur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shamelessly stole the faerie dragon design from [D&D](https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Faerie_dragon)


	6. Chapter 6

01

Harry saw Merlin and Roxy out of his office and then went back down to the Vault. He couldn’t be certain that Chester didn’t have more… beings… like that and the last thing he wanted was for Eggsy to find them. He went to the storage room and knocked lightly on the doorframe.

Eggsy looked up from the file he was reading. He wasn’t just reading it over; he was _reading_ it. He’d been so completely caught up in it that he hadn’t even heard the Vault door open. He snapped it shut guiltily and jumped to his feet.

“It ain’t labeled, Mr. Hart,” he said quickly. “A lot of ‘em ain’t! I didn’t mean to read s’much of it.”

“It’s alright, Eggsy,” Harry said. “May I ask what that record is?”

Eggsy shrugged and handed it over to him. Harry opened it, his eyes widening a little. The first picture was a full-sized image of the creature that was still on his desk. It was on its back, either asleep or unconscious - although Harry suspected the later - and the wound on its chest was very fresh looking. Harry turned to the second page. It was another picture of the creature, this time from a different angle. It was awake and appeared to be hissing; Harry could just make out the bars of the cage it was being kept in. It was a bit curled in on itself, its wings flat against its body and tail poised to strike.

Harry turned to the next page. It was another full-sized photograph, but of the creature in his human form. He was in a suit, and biting back a grin; Harry could see the pride in his green eyes. He knew this picture; he’d been there when it had been taken. It had been the file photograph for a short-lived Kingsman agent.

"Lee," Harry whispered, his face twisting with pain and horror.

He turned the page, both needing to and not wanting to read it. The file was handwritten and it started three days after Lee’s ‘death’. The first set were very clinical, detached reports on Lee healing from the wound Harry had believed killed him. After that came a couple pages of information; Lee’s weight, his length, and his approximate age. Chester had recorded it as '75 or older '.

Harry frowned at that, because Lee had told Medical he was 28. It had been assumed Lee hadn't meant human years and Harry found it highly unlikely that Lee had told Chester anything. And that meant Chester had known exactly what Lee had been. 

"Oh God," he whispered, his knees slowly giving out beneath him. 

Harry had recognized that Eggsy and Lee were the same species when Eggsy had enchanted James. Lee was the only fae ( _were_ they even fae?) he'd ever seen control another in quite that way. Most used psionic abilities, a few used physical contact. Eggsy and Lee breathed on their targets. If Chester had known what Lee was, then _he_ would have recognized what Lee had done to him. And _who_ had introduced them? 

"Fuck." The single word trembled with emotion.

Harry started flipping through the file, skimming records at random intervals. It ran until the end if 1998, and it seemed to mainly be meticulously written records of varying tortures Chester had used on Lee. It was clear enough Chester had been trying to extract some sort of information out of him, but he hadn’t broken by year’s end.

“Mr. Hart…?”

Harry looked up at Eggsy, with no real memory of sitting on the floor. He could feel the wet on his cheeks; he hadn’t even realized he’d been crying. He swallowed hard and took a breath. He could hear how shaky it was.

“If you find more files… I need them.”

Eggsy nodded and gently took the file from Harry’s hands. He closed it and set it back in the box. “Alright, Mr. Hart, but I don’t think you need them right now.” He crouched beside Harry and took him by the arm. “C’mon. We’ll go up to your office, yeah?”

Harry let Eggsy guide him up to his feet. He was feeling… numb. He knew, somewhat distantly, that it was because he’d been overwhelmed by what he’d just learned. He couldn’t presently cope with it, so he’d shutdown somewhat. He could hear how heavily he was breathing, but that, too, was a distant thing. 

Eggsy helped him to the lift and he watched as the… the fae? dragon? _something_... pressed the button. But Harry didn’t want to go back to his office. His mind was actually insisting that they not go back. But why…? What was wrong with…?

“Merlin’s office!”

He hadn’t put the… the… He hadn’t put _Lee_ back in the box. He didn’t want Eggsy seeing that. He didn’t want Eggsy seeing what Chester had done to another member of his species. Eggsy would see it as some sort of… of threat, wouldn’t he; Harry didn’t want that.

Eggsy eyed him and then nodded. “Alright, Mr. Hart. We’ll go to Merlin’s office.”

Eggsy helped Hart to Merlin’s office, and he kept a curious eye on him for most of the way. He could feel Hart trembling. He could _see_ the pain and grief in Hart’s eyes, and had heard them and a soft undercurrent of anger in his voice. But more than that, Hart had gone white. As far as Eggsy knew, humans couldn’t make themselves do that. Which meant that Hart had been truly, deeply shocked by seeing that file, and Eggsy didn’t think it was the shock or fear of losing his master’s prize.

They got to Merlin’s office and Eggsy knocked. Merlin opened if after a moment, took one look at Harry, and brought them inside. He sat Harry at his desk and settled on his knees. He took Harry’s hands in his.

“What happened?”

Harry shook his head. He looked at Eggsy for a moment and then at Merlin. “That…”

Merlin nodded, understanding what Harry was referring to. “What about it?”

“It’s Lee.”

Merlin hissed a breath. He’d known Chester hadn’t _really_ returned Lee’s body to his people, but he’d never _imagined_ that Chester would… do something like _that_ to a member of Kingsman. He realized he should have at least suspected as soon as he’d seen… Lee. He had been aware enough of the other things Chester had been up to.

He stood up and looked at Eggsy. “I’m sending him home. Go with him, make him get some rest.” He paused. “He can have _one_ drink.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yes, Merlin.”

Harry shook his head. “You aren’t sending me home. I’m perfectly fine.”

“ _Bullshit_ , Harry. I’ve _never_ seen you…” He shook his head. There were some feelings Harry just did _not_ allow himself to show in public. “You’re crying in public, Harry.”

Harry touched his face. He’d thought it had stopped. “Oh. I suppose I am.” He really was not in the best frame of mind, was he?

“Don’t make me pull rank, Arthur,” Merlin said softly.

“I thought he was in charge,” Eggsy said.

Merlin nodded. “He is, but there are two people in Kingsman who can order Arthur off premises, generally for health reasons. I’m one of them.”

Eggsy nodded. “I’ll get him home.”

Harry sighed wearily. “Alright. He can take me home.”

02

Eggsy watched Hart try and keep himself composed on the ride back to the house. He was still pale and Eggsy could see how tightly his hands were clasped in his lap. But as soon as the door was closed behind them and they were in private, it was as if everything holding Hart together just vanished.

He took Hart’s arm again. “You c’n lean on me,” he said softly. “Let’s get you upstairs, alright? Get you some rest?”

Harry wanted to protest, but all of it - the records, realizing that little creature had been Lee, the added guilt of having been the one to bring him to Chester’s attention - was crushing down on him and he realized sleep probably _would_ be a good idea. Or at least a lie down. He let Eggsy bring him upstairs and into his bedroom.

Eggsy unbuttoned Harry’s suit coat and slid it off his shoulders. “Take off your holster and your belt. I can put your holster in your armory.”

Harry watched Eggsy go into his walk-in closet. He didn’t… really understand why Eggsy was taking care of him. He took his holster off and set it on the nightstand. “You do know you don’t have to do this. I know Merlin asked you to make sure I got some rest, but… you don’t _have_ to do this much.”

Eggsy came back out of Harry’s closet and went over to him. “Belt” was all he said.

Harry took his belt off and set it with his holster. “Did you hear me?”

“I heard you,” Eggsy said as he started unbuttoning Harry’s shirt.

“Eggsy…” Harry put his hands on Eggsy’s own.

“You’ve got an undershirt on, yeah? You ain’t gonna lie down in an expensive fuckin’ shirt.”

He watched Eggsy for a moment and then let his hands fall away. He watched Eggsy as he finished and let him take the shirt off. He watched while Eggsy put it in the hamper and then go over to the bed. Eggsy pulled the covers back.

“I expect you can get your trousers. I mean, unless you really want me to do it.”

“I could have done all of this, thank you,” Harry said primly.

Eggsy grinned just a bit. “Yeah, I know that. Let a man take care-a you for a few minutes, alright?”

Eggsy turned around and looked up at the ceiling. Harry shook his head, a soft smile forming, and took his trousers off. He held them out enough for Eggsy to see them.

“If you wouldn’t mind?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Eggsy went back into the closet while Harry got into bed. Harry lay back and realized he was so very tired; it was almost a bone-deep exhaustion. He know, logically, that it was part of having been so emotionally overwhelmed.

When Eggsy came back out, he sat on the other side of the bed. “I put the suit apart from the others. Figured you’d want it dry cleaned.”

“Thank you.” Harry watched him for a moment. “Will you tell me _why_ you did all of this? Merlin - and please don’t hold this against him - told me that you view me as a predator.”

Eggsy shrugged. “You coulda been faking the shock and the shakin’ and the cryin’, but you can’t fake gettin’ that pale. It really upset you that some fuckin’ non-human got himself tortured.”

“Did you know him at all?”

Eggsy shrugged again. “I ‘unno. I mean, I was in that cell from…” he tipped his head back and forth a couple times “...sometime in ‘98. Summer, I think. Didn’t… really see him ever, just… heard him screaming a lot.”

Harry closed his eyes and looked away. “When did he _lend_ you to Dean?”

Eggsy shook his head. “2001?” He thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, 2001. He’d wanted to do to me what he’d done to the other one, but I was too young.”

“When did he die?” He looked back at Eggsy. “When did he _really_ die?”

Eggsy tipped his head a little at that. “Couple months before Mr. King took me to Dean.”

“A couple months,” Harry whispered.

“Why do you even care? I mean…”

“Because you’re the same species and, therefore, I should have wanted to… hunt him or kill him?”

“Somethin’ like that, yeah.”

Harry sighed and was quiet for a moment. “Lee was my protégé. I’d met him in 1994. I’d been looking into a disturbance, which turned out to be nothing. He was bright, living in an area that was almost entirely human. So I took it upon myself to investigate him.”

Eggsy cocked his head slightly, a scowl forming. “Investigate, huh?”

Harry laughed softly. “It was a series of interviews, nothing more. I judged him to be perfectly safe and not someone Kingsman needed to keep an eye on, but we had enjoyed each other’s company and started meeting for coffee once or twice a week. We became friends.”

Eggsy scoffed. “Sure, cos you didn’t tell him shit.”

Harry’s brow rose but he didn’t take the bait. “Believe it or not, I didn’t realize there _was_ anything to tell him. I was adopted by two very normal humans. I knew I was adopted, but I never thought I was anything other than human.”

“Course not.”

Harry smiled slightly; he’d known Eggsy wouldn’t believe that. “I’d known Lee for almost a year when a position opened up in Kingsman. He was my proposal. Chester said he wouldn’t allow Lee in and… Lee did what you do. So Lee went on a mission with me and then he started the training program.”

Eggsy sighed softly. That was how King had found them. But… it didn’t sound like Hart had meant for it to happen. “So… he get in?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. It’s a two year training program, part of which involves going on missions with an agent and observing. There _may_ have been a few times when I let him do a bit more than just observe.”

“Cos of his ability?”

Harry shook his head. “It kept him from being bored. Intelligent, a penchant for mischief, _and_ bored is rarely a good combination.”

Eggsy laughed softly. “Yeah… that… that can be less than ideal.”

“Lee knew what I was. I never… asked him, but he knew from the day I brought him to Kingsman.”

Eggsy stiffened and searched Harry’s face for the lie that _had_ to be. “Bullshit. Ain’t one of _us_ gonna work alongside one of _you_ for two fuckin’ years.” His eyes widened as he realized what he’d just spat at him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hart. I… I mean I meant it, but I shouldn’t-a said it. I know better.”

Harry laughed softly at the vitriol that had been hurled at him. Maybe something good _could_ come of his protégé’s horrible death, especially if it had brought Eggsy to a place where he couldn’t help but express his true feelings.

“There’s no need to be sorry, dear boy,” he said softly. “I suppose Lee felt he knew me well enough to realize I didn’t mean him any harm, and I’m sure knowing that I am the only one like myself in Kingsman helped.”

Eggsy pulled his legs up on the bed and crossed them. “So… you asked when he _really_ died…”

“After an agent is accepted, they spend their first six months in the field with an experienced agent. The agent is there in case they need the help. I was Lee’s field agent,” Harry said. “It was… barely three months before he was sent to a rather bad disturbance. He tried to deescalate it, but…” Harry shook his head.

“But they attacked him?”

“No,” Harry said. “They attacked me. And Lee… he didn’t even hesitate. He got between us and took the blow meant for me. That…” Harry touched his chest “...scar he had?”

Eggsy nodded.

“That was from saving my life. Chester was the one to tell me that Lee was dead. I… suspect… he used either his ability with illusions or his hold over certain members of Medical to have him pronounced dead.”

Eggsy stared at him. His dad had nearly died for a fuckin’ Darkstalker. A _Darkstalker_. What the _fuck_ had he been thinkin’? That he knew the fuckin’ thing well enough that he wouldn’t be turned over to his masters?

But… Hart had been so upset. He was _still_ upset, even if he’d calmed down. Eggsy could still see it in his eyes. 

“You… you _really_ cared about him.”

Harry chuckled. “Yes. Lee was… a good friend.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment before shaking his head. It was so… hard to believe, and yet he kinda did. “You oughta get some rest.”

Harry nodded. “Thank you for… taking care of me.”

Eggsy shrugged and lay over on his side, curling up a bit. “Just if you need somethin’.”

Harry smiled a little and settled back. Eggsy was actually… showing some level of trust. All it had taken was a slight emotional breakdown on his part. He bit back a laugh that might have been closer to a sob and closed his eyes, reminding himself that something good had come from the torture and death he’d indirectly caused.

03

Merlin stopped in the doorway and smiled a bit at the sight before him. Harry and Eggsy were both asleep. Eggsy was curled up lower down on the bed and as far across from Harry as he could be, but he had one arm extended and his hand on Harry’s arm.

He took a couple steps into the room and Eggsy snapped awake, sitting up a bit, his eyes wide. As soon as he realized it was Merlin, he settled back on the bed. Merlin bit back a laugh. The _way_ Eggsy had startled had been almost cat-like. 

Merlin went over to the bed, aware of the green eyes following him as he walked around Harry’s side of the bed. He leaned over, putting his hands on either side of Harry to brace himself, and kissed him. Harry sighed, arching up into it and putting his arms around Merlin’s neck.

Harry lay back once the kiss was broken, his hands slipping from behind Merlin’s neck down to his arms. “Lovely way to wake up, darling.”

“How are you feeling?”

Harry shrugged ever so slightly and shook his head a little. “Not quite the way I was feeling earlier.” He rubbed Merlin’s arms for a moment. “You were… completely justified in forcing me to leave.”

“Yes, I was,” he said with a smile that was just shy of a grin.

Harry laughed softly and then noticed movement on the other end of the bed. “Eggsy. I’d… I had figured you would have left once I was asleep.”

“Told you I’d stay in case you needed somethin’.” He got up and picked up Harry’s holster. “But Merlin’s home now, so I’ll just… put this away for you an’ head downstairs.”

Merlin watched him leave and then settled on the bed beside Harry. “He had his hand on you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him touch you before today.”

Harry sat up and shook his head. “No, he hasn’t, and he took care of me. He helped me up the stairs. He helped me _undress_.”

Merlin’s brow rose, both at Eggsy’s help and at Harry being so bad off that he had needed the help. But then, given what Harry had discovered, it wasn’t really surprising that Harry had been willing to just let someone else take control for him.

“Do you still need help?”

Harry laughed softly. They both knew what Merlin was really asking: did he need Merlin to take control? It was something they both needed from time to time, to step aside and let the other one be in control. More often than not, it was simply what they were in the mood for. But sometimes… sometimes it was necessary.

“No, really, I’m alright.” Harry tipped his head from side to side. “Mostly.”

Merlin kissed him gently. “Come downstairs when you’re up to it.”

04

Merlin went downstairs. He found Eggsy in the lounge, curled up in the chair and staring out the window. He entered the lounge and sat on the sofa. From that angle, he could see the conflict and confusion in Eggsy’s face.

“I don’t wanna believe any of it,” he said softly. “But… the way he reacted…”

“I understand.”

Both men were silent for some time. Eventually, Eggsy got up and got one of the 3D mazes. He went back and curled up, this time on the sofa instead of the chair. He was on the opposite end from Merlin, and Merlin had a feeling that Eggsy would move once Harry came downstairs. 

“Would you tell me about your people?”

Eggsy shrugged. “Mr. King has a file on us. Could read that.”

“I doubt it has the sort of information I’d like to know.”

Eggsy looked over at him, shrugged, and want back to his maze. “Yeah, sure, I guess. Whatcha wanna know?”

“We’ve never heard of your species before.”

Eggsy laughed softly. “That’s cos we’re good at hiding. Haveta be.”

Merlin nodded. “Because of people like Harry.”

Eggsy shrugged. “Yeah, them and their masters.”

“And who are their masters?”

“The Great Ones.”

Merlin watched him for a moment. “And who are the Great Ones?”

“Fae,” Eggsy said shifting uncomfortably.

“Alright, we don’t need to talk about them any more.” Merlin watched him for a few moments, waiting for Eggsy to show some sign that he was more at ease. “What about your culture? Do you have holidays? Celebrations around births or deaths?”

“We ain’t really got holidays. There’s like… parties when hatchling clusters hit different ages. Ain’t s’much like birthdays, though.” Eggsy paused for a moment, thinking about it. He’d been the equivalent of a teenager when King had captured and he hadn’t really paid all that much attention to the adults around him. “Well, when hatchlings are born and… I guess when they’ve left like ‘babyhood’ behind and when they become ‘teenagers’.” He shrugged. “I dunno if it’s an exact comparison or not though.”

“And what are you?”

Eggsy shrugged. “An adult, I think. I ain’t fully mature yet, but… I’m out of whatever you wanna call the third stage.”

“How do you know?”

“We change color as we get older. Red when we hatch, then after a few years, one of the molts we go through leaves us pink.” He shrugged. “We go through, I think, four more… before we’re fully mature. Might be three.” He shrugged again.

Merlin’s brow rose slightly. He wondered if they were violet at that point. But… how had Chester known that? How had Chester known _anything_ about Eggsy’s kind? A thought occurred to him and Merlin took a breath. He held it for a moment before speaking.

“Eggsy… was Chester descended from the Great Ones?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah. Thought Mr. Hart was his slave but… not if he killed ‘im.” He tipped his head back thoughtfully. “Well… I guess he coulda been Mr. King’s slave. I always thought they couldn’t disobey, but…” But if Hart had been telling the truth, he’d been raised by humans. And that meant _someone_ had gotten him out. If Hart’s parents had been part of that, that meant they _could_ disobey, that they weren’t just… mindless tools obeying their masters every whim.

Merlin was quiet for a few moments. He could hear Harry moving about upstairs and knew that if he didn’t ask now, he might not get the chance again for some time. “What about death? What do you do for that?”

Eggsy looked at him, studying his face, and then shrugged after a moment. “We got a graveyard.”

“So you bury your dead?”

Eggsy shook his head. “No, it’s… it’s kinda like elephant graveyards. The old ones go there when it’s time, and then they become dirt.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment. “What if one doesn’t wish to? Or doesn’t get to it in time?”

“Then someone brings them there. It’s how humans do it, innit?”

“Yes,” Merlin nodded.

“I dunno what happens if they don’t wanna. I… I don’t remember no one like that.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment. “Could they be… buried or cremated or something similar?”

Eggsy’s eyes widened with horror and he shook his head. “That’s just… not done. Ever. I, I mean I _guess_ they could be buried but… but not the other thing. It’s just _wrong_.”

Merlin sat forward a little. “Would you tell me why?”

Eggsy looked down at the maze. It was clear enough that this, too, made him uncomfortable. It was a few moments before he answered the question. His voice was soft and his words almost hesitant.

“S’long as there’s like… dirt an’ stuff, they can become dirt again. Ain’t… ain’t the same if they ain’t in the graveyard or they’re buried, but… it’s better than bein’ burned.” He was quiet for a moment and Merlin didn’t say anything. “They at least remember who they are, even if they can’t move on. But… if there ain’t nothin’ left? They ain’t got nothin’ to anchor them. They can’t move on and they can’t remember themselves. They just… lost. Forever.”

Merlin sat back. Would Lee’s spirit still be around somewhere? If he was, could he remember himself? He wanted to ask Eggsy if there was a way to help one of them move on, but he… had a feeling Eggsy would find _that_ a little too specific. He would have to talk to Harry about it later, in his office. They would have to figure out _some_ way to release Lee’s spirit from what Chester had done to him.

Eggsy focused on the maze, working at getting it to the end. He’d curled up tighter. He didn’t like that Merlin was asking these things. He could feel Merlin looking at him and he just… ignored it. He didn’t want to answer anything more about this.

Eggsy looked up only when Hart came into the room. Looking at Hart and seeing the pain still in his eyes broke the rest of Eggsy’s control over his emotions. He felt himself start trembling; he heard his breathing speed up. He let the maze drop from his hands and he covered his face. He could feel the hot tears trailing down his cheeks. It had been a long time since he’d let himself cry like this; longer since he’d let himself do it in front of another.

“Mr. King kept somethin’ of ‘im, didn’t he,” he asked after a few moments, his hands muffling the question.

“What makes you say that?”

He lowered his hands after a moment and wiped at his eyes. He looked up at Hart, trying hard to keep himself in check. “You looked at me and then you said that somethin’ was him. Was… was it in that box Roxy took?”

Harry sighed heavily, his hands seeking out the pockets of his bathrobe. He wanted to lie to Eggsy, to give him something more pleasant than the truth. But how could he? How could he sweep Chester’s actions under the rug like so much dirt to be hidden from prying eyes?

“Yes, Eggsy. Chester… kept something and that _is_ what Roxy brought up to me.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment. Neither man moved; they could see how tense he was. His eyes were wide and full of pain. He was teetering on the edge of his _own_ emotional breakdown and neither of them wanted to give him the smallest push.

“I wanna see it,” he whimpered.

“Eggsy,” Merlin breathed.

“I wanna see it!”

Harry exchanged a glance with Merlin and then tipped his head back. He hadn’t heard what Eggsy had told Merlin about their beliefs. He didn’t know that Eggsy wanted - _needed_ \- to see if Lee was lost forever or not.

“Alright,” he said, looking back at Eggsy. “We can go tomorrow if you like… assuming Merlin judges me fit to return to work tomorrow.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /falls on/  
> I have been sick as the proverbial dog, BUT I FINISHED THE CHAPTER! (I promise, no combination of meds that isn't supposed to be taken that's made me loopy af this time XD)

01

Eggsy followed Harry and Merlin into Arthur’s office. He was looking pointedly at the floor. He’d said he wanted to see his dad, and he did, but… he had to work himself up to it. When he finally looked up, Merlin and Harry were on either end of the desk. And… _it_ … was in the middle of the desk. A cloth had been, blessedly, put over… _it_ ; he figured it had been Merlin.

He took a shaky breath and approached the desk. He reached out for the cloth… and then he just _couldn’t_. He could hear his breath coming in shallow gasps and everything seemed far away. He heard Harry say something but… but he couldn’t follow it.

He looked at Harry, his eyes wide, frightened, and confused. “Wha’?”

“I said that you don’t have to do this if it’s too difficult.”

Eggsy shook his head. “No, I… I gotta.”

He forced himself to move that last little bit and grip onto the cloth. He counted to three in his head and then pulled the cloth off. Or… tried to, at least. His arm wouldn’t obey him and he lowered his head. The sooner he did this, the sooner he’d know, and the sooner he could stop… feeling like this. _And feel worse_ , his traitor mind whispered.

He pushed that thought aside and ripped the cloth off. He stared at what Chester had done, his face twisting with horror; it was so much worse than he’d feared. He turned away, crossing his arms over his stomach and leaning over. He felt a hand on his back, and there was Merlin with the trash can.

He shook his head. “‘m alright. ‘m not gonna…”

“He’s covered again,” Harry said softly.

“‘kay,” Eggsy said without turning around. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Hart (and wasn’t _that_ a realization?); it was that he just _couldn’t_ make himself look back at the cloth.

He wondered what was left when something got… got… got done like _that_. Was it just the skin? Was there more? He shuddered at the thought, cos if it was just the skin left, did his dad even remember who he was? Could he ever even move on?

A soft sob escaped him and Eggsy clapped a hand over his mouth. He felt a second hand on him and let himself be pulled against Merlin. He hid against the selkie, trying to not break down completely. He heard the office door open and close and started struggling weakly.

“It’s alright, lad,” he said softly. “That was just Harry leaving.”

Eggsy nodded a little, and then sank against him. He felt Merlin moving him and went where he was made to, and then realized he’d been guided down to the floor. “What…” He looked up at Merlin, the rest of the question in his eyes.

“Yer hair’s pink,” Merlin said. “So’re your eyes, for that matter. I know it’s hard after a shock.”

“Oh…”

Hart had left… so that he wouldn’t feel the need to fight to stay in human form. He knew it was a bad idea, maybe even a trap, but it was so very hard to keep his form right now. He let himself shift, shrinking down until he was no larger than a cat. He didn’t look much different from his father, save that his skin was pale blue.

Merlin gathered him up the way one might hold a cat, although Eggsy was quite a bit lighter than a cat. Eggsy’s barbed tail gave a half-hearted warning shake and then he nestled in Merlin’s arms. There was no crying in this form and he lay in Merlin’s arms shuddering and breathing hard, his wings pulled tight against his body.

It was quite some time before he calmed. He got down from Merlin’s arms and sat, slowly working his wings. He didn’t really _need_ to, but it gave him something to focus on or else he was gonna start freakin’ out again.

It was a few more minutes before he could shift into his human form. He leaned back against the wall. His hair was still tinged with pink but he was managing to hold himself in the human form. He was not unaware that he’d just been practically defenseless, in Hart’s office, inside Kingsman… and nothing had happened to him.

“Is it alright if I tell Harry he can come back?”

Eggsy closed his eyes and considered for a moment. Just how much was he willing to believe Hart? And it was only belief; it wasn’t trust. Or… at least he was going to tell himself it wasn’t trust.

“He really doesn’t have a master, does he.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Merlin said, the unasked question in his voice.

“Mr. Hart saw I was strugglin’ and left. He coulda stayed, coulda seen how old I am. I think I’m old enough that one-a _them_ would be happy.” He shrugged. “Ain’t sayin’ I trust him - ain’t never gonna trust his kind - but… I guess he’s tellin’ the truth about that.”

Merlin smiled a little. He knew that was, at least, the beginning of trust. Eggsy might never fully trust Harry, but… it was a start. “I’ll let him know it’s alright.”

He tapped his glasses and did just that. It was a few minutes before Harry came back. He was carrying three mugs pressed tightly against each other and a file under his arm. He set the mugs down on his desk.

“Coffee for Merlin; tea for the both of us.” He picked up one of the mugs and brought it to Eggsy. “Also, Merlin, I spent the time working in your office.”

“You _what_?”

“Easy, easy. I didn’t hurt anything,” Harry said, sounding both softly amused and reassuring. “I just used your computer.”

“Henry,” Merlin growled.

“I _am_ perfectly capable of using your setup without harming it, thank you,” he said primly. “Besides, I wasn’t certain how long Eggsy would need and I needed to work on _something_. I promise, I only touched what I needed in order to work on this file.”

Merlin huffed. “Aye, I know how you are with my things.”

“And _I_ know how _you_ are about them, which is why I used as little as possible.”

Eggsy watched this, hiding a little smile behind the mug of tea. Hart hadn’t _had_ to tell Merlin anything; he doubted Merlin would have realized otherwise. And then there was _how_ Merlin reacted. He didn’t really think Merlin had been angry, just annoyed, and he’d shown it, clearly.

Maybe… their relationship _wasn’t_ … exactly what he thought it was.

Maybe.

02

“What can we do for him?” Harry asked.

He’d given Eggsy time. Eggsy had sat on the floor for quite some time, slowly drinking his tea, before he’d been willing to move back over to the desk. Harry had moved Lee’s remains to a clear spot on his bookshelf, still with the cloth decently over him. 

Eggsy shook his head. This wasn’t the sort of thing his people ever talked about. Primarily because it bordered on blasphemy. Most of their belief system centered on birth and death. “I… I don’t know. What’s left…? I mean… I dunno nothin’ about… stuff like that.”

Harry didn’t answer for a moment. “Very likely, just the skin. Inside will be either a wooden replica of him or a wire frame.”

Eggsy tipped his head back. That was… what he’d been expecting, really. “Even his bones are gone,” he said softly. “I don’t… know.”

“The bones anchor their spirit, Harry. It keeps them remembering who they were until they can cross over.”

“And how do they do that?”

Eggsy shook his head a little. “Hafta be home for that.”

Harry nodded slowly. He wasn’t going to ask Eggsy where that was. “Can you take him there?”

Eggsy looked away from him. “What’s been done to him… it… I mean…”

“The others would react the way you did.”

He nodded. “It’s… I ain’t got a word for _what_ it is.”

Merlin frowned a little. “Could we… replicate what you need? Help him remember what he needs to do somehow?”

“It ain’t possible,” Eggsy said softly. He was quiet for a few minutes. “Ain’t… heard about nothin’ like this before. But…” He took a breath and sighed it slowly. “The bones keep them remembering who they were cos it’s what stays once everything else is gone. He’s… still got…”

Harry nodded silently. There was no need to make Eggsy say it.

“I guess the most we c’n do is… kinda make him comfortable. Sorta… do like Merlin said and try and replicate home.”

“We can do that, Eggsy. Just… let me know what we need and we can go get it. Do you want to make it here or…?”

Eggsy didn’t answer him for a moment. “If I make it at the house…” He sighed. He didn’t want to have to look at _that_ at all. “But I can’t leave him here. I’ll… draw somethin’ up, yeah?”

“That’s fine.”

“I guess I oughta… take him home with me.” He frowned after a moment, realizing what he’d just said. “I mean, your home. Not mine.”

“I… wonder if you might let me take him for a couple days,” Harry asked.

Eggsy tensed up, his eyes darkening. “Why d’you wanna do that?”

“Right now, he’s mounted. He’s positioned well enough that - and I’m assuming you mean to have something natural for him - with a bit of soil, he should be able to stand on his own, without the mounting.”

Eggsy tipped his head ever so slightly. “You’d do that?”

“Yes, of course.”

Eggsy didn’t like it. He didn’t want to trust Hart to do what he said. But… with how Hart had felt about his dad, there was a chance that he’d actually do what he said. And, well… it would give him a couple days to get everything he needed _and_ get used to the idea that… he was gonna have his father’s remains. In the house. All the time. Visible.

“Alright.”

03

It had been a couple days. Harry had left Lee’s remains with the gentleman who’d done Mr. Pickle for him, but only after making it perfectly clear that there was to be _no_ damage done. The gentleman in question had asked for information on what the animal was in lieu of payment; Harry had agreed, but with the stipulation that payment would be on delivery.

Eggsy had gone back to working on the boxes in the storage room. He'd found his own records and brought them up along with his dad's. He'd thought about hiding them; about not letting Hart realise that they weren't simply two of the same species. But he doubted that would matter; there was probably something about him in his dad's records anyway. 

There had been one suspiciously light box that he'd found and he'd taken it to Hart without looking inside. Harry had waited for Eggsy to leave before opening it. Inside was a soft leather-bound book and a notebook. The notebook had been almost a diary. Chester had been experimenting on the fluid he had been draining from Lee, seemingly with poor results, although he hadn’t bothered recording _what_ results he wanted.

The other was something of a mystery. It was hand written, but in some sort of… almost runic script. There were diagrams of dragons - Harry had assumed it was Lee and Eggsy’s species - in several places and a few other drawings that he couldn’t make sense of without context. He’d researched the script and found nothing. He had a contact who was a linguist; she hadn’t been able to make anything out, but had made copies of a couple of the pages to attempt to make some headway.

He’d taken to keeping it on his desk and attempting to figure out _anything_ in between work related business. He was flipping through it, looking at the drawings and diagrams as if they’d tell him anything. He’d thought about asking Eggsy, but if this book was something Chester had been working from… well, it would probably do more harm than good to show him.

A knock on his office door pulled him away from the book and his thoughts. He saw no one, so he set it aside and swapped glasses. He wondered if he’d ever get used to seeing things the way regular humans (could he even _call_ himself human?) did. It made him… tense, almost anxious. But then, it made everything look magical and he _was_ something that was supposed to hunt magical things. 

“Come in, Geraint,” he said and forced himself away from the thought.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the actual sight of the Knight. His clothing had been tailored to him, of course, but there was no real hiding how he looked. He was shriveled and desiccated, looking more like a mummy than a living creature. There was a red glow where his eyes should be. Harry almost expected to hear him creaking as he moved.

The Knight took a seat across from Harry. “Arthur, I have… something of an odd request.”

“Alright,” he said with a single nod.

“There have been reports of a necromancer in Kinsale. As you can understand, this is… of interest to me. I’d like to be on the mission.”

Harry’s brow rose. “Might I ask what you’re… expecting to find?”

Geraint was silent for a moment. “Arthur, do you know when Kingsman was founded?”

“Yes, 1758.”

Geraint nodded. “I was 48 at the time. My… accident… happened not long after. I have been… alive, for lack of a better term, for over 300 years.”

Harry took a breath and blew it out slowly. “You’re hoping this necromancer will have a way for you to… rest.”

“Yes, Arthur.”

Harry sat back in his seat. “While I can’t say I find the idea of sending someone on a mission in order to find a way to die, I do understand. Your request is approved.”

“Thank you,” he said and started to rise. “What _is_ that?” he asked, pointing at Harry’s desk.

Harry looked at the spot Geraint was pointing to. He had a scrap of paper with a few of the runes drawn on it; they were softly swirling things. “Oh, that. Eggsy found a book written in runes like that.”

“May I see it?”

Harry tipped his head ever so slightly; there was something bordering on greed in the Knight’s voice. He pushed the leather-bound book across the desk. Geraint sat again and started flipping through it. Harry watched as the Knight’s mouth moved slightly as he read over it.

“You can read that?”

“If you had asked me 200 years ago, I would have had no problem. This was written by a race of fae that has died out, or come so close to it that we never see them. They were petty, arrogant, power-hungry,” he said. “They fought amongst themselves and brought about their own demise.”

“They didn’t… call themselves the ‘Great Ones’, did they?”

Geraint looked thoughtful - as thoughtful as he was capable of - for a moment. “Not that I remember, but that… does sound like them.”

“They still exist,” Harry said. “At least, human-hybrids of them still exist. Chester was one of them.”

“Huh. And this was his…” He flipped a few more pages and stopped on one of the diagrams of the dragons. “Ah, so it deals with them. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. They were _heavily_ sought out by…” He left out a soft, sardonic chuckle. “...Chester’s kind. I haven’t even seen one in… at least 150 years.”

Harry had to wonder if they hadn’t seen any of Chester’s species because Lee and Eggsy’s species had become so rare. “Would you be willing to try and translate that?”

“Of course! I’m a bit rusty, but… it shouldn’t take more than a couple of days.”

“A couple of days?”

Geraint shrugged. “I don’t sleep.”

He watched as the Knight left. He wanted to ask Geraint questions, a lot of them. But with how he’d sounded, Harry wasn’t… quite willing to ask before the book was translated. He wanted to be certain the Knight’s reaction hadn’t been because of Eggsy’s species but instead because of knowledge he didn’t have.

04

“You’re certain you don’t need it?” Harry asked.

Eggsy had moved the chest of drawers away from the wall. “Yeah, I hang up everything I wear; ain’t like I got a lot. And without it, I’ll have more room in here for… for the…”

“I understand,” Harry said. Eggsy had all the pieces for his memorial against the wall. It _would_ fit if the chest of drawers was in the room, but it would make the room feel that much smaller. “If it’s alright, I can have someone pick it up tomorrow. If you’d like it to be tonight, I’m sure I can arrange that.”

“Tomorrow’s fine,” he said. “‘s alright if I move it into the hall?” He’d already been planning on it, but… he knew he should at least _ask_ Harry… ask _Hart_ before he did it.

“Of course,” Harry said. “Would you like help?”

Eggsy faltered. He looked at the chest of drawers. It wouldn’t be heavy, but it would be unwieldy. His magic was limited to two things: a shape change and the limited control he could exercise on others. It would be a lot easier if Harry - if _Hart_ \- helped. 

He looked at _Hart_ again and nodded. “Yeah, that’s… sure.”

They lifted it and moved it into the hall, Harry going first. They set it so it was flush with the wall and Eggsy looked away from him with a shrug. He didn’t like that he was starting to think of Hart as Harry… that he was starting to be willing to sorta rely on him and believe him.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“You needn’t thank me, Eggsy,” Harry said. “Did you want help with your… project?”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment and then shrugged. He wanted to tell Hart to fuck off. But… well, as much as he didn’t like it, Hart was making the attempt at peace so he supposed he oughta reciprocate. “Sure. You know it’s… gonna be a lot of dirt, right?”

Harry laughed softly. “I’ve been known to get my hands dirty.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Eggsy muttered as he went back into his bedroom. 

Harry followed him into the bedroom and took his suit jacket off. He unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. Eggsy started laying his project laid out nicely. He had a large, flat planter that was going to serve as the middle of his scene. He had a water fountain to go with it, the pool of which was going to serve as sort of a lake. Eggsy had enough of the log-style planters to go around the middle and round stump-style planters for the corner. 

Harry worked on getting things arranged while Eggsy started filling the centre with dirt. The entire setup was far enough away from the wall that Eggsy would be able to walk around it easily enough. Harry left one side open for the time being so Eggsy wouldn’t have to step over the planters on his way out. He filled the planters the way Eggsy told him to, and if Eggsy seemed unhappy with his work, he stopped and asked how he could do it better.

Eggsy was still working on the centre bit when Harry started planting. Eggsy had gotten wood anemones, foxglove, red campion, and solomon’s seal for the outer planters; and dog’s tooth lilies, snake’s head fritillaries, and corydalis for the corners. The centre was going to have sweet woodruff and ferns. [[1](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774397/chapters/53918791#note1)]

Harry planted some of each in the planters, and he tried to make the layout look more natural than man-made. By the time he was shaking grass seeds on the planters, Eggsy had gotten the center filled in and was working on a mound. The fountain and pool were off-center and it was behind that. Harry watched him for a few moments.

“Is that… where he’ll go?”

Eggsy blushed, brightly, and then nodded. “Yeah, it’s… you know, supposed to be from all the others who came before. I know it ain’t but… it oughta help.”

“So he can remember who he was,” Harry said softly.

“Yeah…”

Harry moved to the end and started working on the last side. “Eggsy, eventually I _will_ find what Chester had on you and I’ve no doubt that you’ll leave at that point.”

“Yeah, cos you’re totally gonna give it to me.”

Harry heard the dry sarcasm in Eggsy’s voice but didn’t comment on it. “I know you won’t be able to take him back with you.”

Eggsy turned a dark look on him, the trust he’d grudgingly formed with Harry threatening to evaporate. “That’s how you’re gonna do it, huh? Try an’ use him against me?”

“No,” Harry said. “I’m simply going to make you a promise: when I find it and you leave, _I_ will take Lee and your memorial for him, and I will take him to the gardens at Kingsman. He’ll be cared for; you won’t have to worry about him.”

Eggsy eyed him for a long, silent moment. There was something so open and honest in his face. Eggsy knew that Harry’d… cared… for his dad. He was actually… well, if Harry actually meant it about freeing him, he thought Harry would actually… do that for his dad. He wondered if he should tell Harry who his dad was; if it would make Harry more inclined to do what he was offering to.

“Thanks,” he said, a bit grudgingly.

“I should have him back in a few days.”

Harry had gone through Eggsy’s records already. There had been far less about Eggsy than there had been about Lee, and, well, it wasn’t as if he’d sealed _Eggsy’s_ fate. Or at least he’d thought that until he started reading. He’d only been a few pages in when Chester had made a note about how Eggsy had been reacting to what was being done to his father. Not Lee, not the other one; his _father_. He’d already known he _had_ to find what Chester had on Eggsy, but now, it was much more personal.

05

It was two days later when Harry went into his office to find the light on and one chair pulled out. He swapped glasses and, sure enough, Geraint was sitting in the chair. He really was going to have to talk to Merlin about trying to alter a set of glasses so he could see normally - well, _his_ normal - and still see the dead… and undead, in the Knight’s case. 

“Good morning,” he said as he went to his chair.

Geraint stood when Harry approached his seat and then sat when he did. The leather-bound book was on the desk, as was a stack of printed pages. There was a notebook beside them.

“I take it your translation attempts were successful.”

“Mostly,” the Knight said. “There are words that I’m… either unfamiliar with or I’ve simply forgotten. That’s why I brought you my notes, as well.”

Harry picked up the printed pages and started flipping through them. Each page was only partially filled; he assumed that Geraint had kept it one printed page per page in the book. He found one with a copy of the dragon’s image on it and saw that his assumption was, indeed, correct.

“What did you learn?”

“ _Why_ they sought the dragons out.” The Knight sounded… almost excited. He flipped open the leather-bound book to one of the diagrams. “They have little sacs in their necks, as dragons tend to. Fire-breathers expel the contents of theirs and, as it combines with oxygen, it combusts. This sort aspirate theirs and it becomes almost a mist. It’s _extremely_ concentrated.”

“Is this how Chester was able to control so many?”

“Well… technically, I suppose,” Geraint said, flipping to another page. “This…” He sighed softly. “ _This_ is an alchemical formula. I couldn’t translate half of the ingredients but it needs the entire contents of both sacs.”

“If… one of these dragons was in their human form…”

He shook his head. “It dilutes, otherwise they’d be breathing out far more than they need to.”

It was Harry’s turn to shake his head. “Wouldn’t that simply make their control stronger?”

Geraint stared at him for a moment. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned control in relation to these dragons, Arthur. The Kingsman files on them were limited to begin with and never made it in to the computerized files; there was no point. So how do you know their magic dealt with control?”

“I’ve met two of them. One of them… Chester drained and eventually killed. The other is… presently living with me until I can figure out how to free him.”

“That young man…” Geraint sighed softly. “Ooh, the questions I’d love to ask him. Do you think he’d tell me about his people?”

“I doubt it. He’s only now starting to trust me.”

Geraint nodded. “Understandable, that. Especially considering Chester.”

“Yes,” Harry agreed. “Would you be so kind as to answer my question now?”

“Oh, of course,” he said. “The point of their control isn’t dominance; it’s a defensive mechanism. They’re small, not very powerful on their own; like any small predator, they can quite easily become prey to a larger predator. The breath weapon, as it were, is to confuse a predator long enough for them to escape. It’s supposed to be effective even on this race of fae.”

“Yes, Chester was… quite affected when it was used on him.”

“I can’t say that makes me very sad,” Geraint said. “Although I suppose that’s how Chester realized there was one around. See this formula… it takes that fluid and turns it into almost a drug. Not a narcotic, mind you. More like… steroids. With constant enough use, it’s supposed to augment their power. How long did he have that one for?”

“Over three years,” Harry said softly.

Geraint watched him curiously. “Forgive me, but… how did you kill Chester in self-defense? If it actually augments their power, he ought to have been capable of overwhelming you.”

“Oh, he nearly did.” Harry said nothing for a few moments. “I would think… it has something to do with my immunity to the dragon’s magic.”

Geraint chuckled. “Arthur, there are very few things that we ever heard rumors of being immune.”

“Yes, and one such is the race of slaves they created to hunt these dragons for them.”

The Knight shifted in his seat, somewhat uncomfortably. “So those… really exist.” He shook his head. “If Chester had something on the… oh, what’s the boy’s name?”

“Eggsy.”

“Yes, right. Eggsy. If Chester had something on him, it would be this.” He flipped through the leather-bound book until he found drawings of rectangular boxes. “It will be small; the male has to be capable of carrying it while flying.”

“What is it?”

“It’s where they keep their hoard. I’m not… entirely certain what the word is here. Spirit rocks, maybe? The box is passed down, father to son, and every new generation adds one of the rocks to it. It has something to do with how their elders pass on.” He shook his head. “Their knowledge of it was vague, so I can’t be more certain.”

Harry pulled the book back to himself. That was what Chester had on Eggsy. Chester hadn’t just taken Lee from Eggsy; he’d taken all of the boy’s forebearers. Or his connection to them or whatever the rocks were actually used for. It was no small wonder Eggsy wouldn’t leave without them or tell him what to look for.

But now he _had_ that starting point. Now, he might actually find it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1[wood anemones](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/95bd5bc6-7b0f-4bc9-82f9-b40fc747eef1-bd20972.jpg)  
> [foxglove](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/e4a946b1-3f3d-4d24-a03e-c518d449ff81-816aa09.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413)  
> [red campion](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/f2af68a4-548e-462e-a448-4262afaf2149-816aa09.jpg)  
> [solomon’s seal](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/fcd9cd95-4557-41e8-97a5-3efab70344e3-154837a.jpg)  
> [dog’s tooth lilies](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/9316fe61-3bd6-4a4a-a6df-b7967340c3ab-800f5e1.jpg)  
> [snake’s head fritillaries](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/08/18f7e186-41e1-47f4-b634-b34f4335f5de-1635020.jpg)  
> [corydalis](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/08/e8362097-21c6-4730-b258-3fa9086f6166-0aa0848.jpg)  
> [sweet woodruff](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/02/4e0a4820-47bd-46bf-a53c-004117bf548a-59f0077.jpg)  
> [ferns](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/08/4e5afcc2-9a08-48d6-9715-4f22c29b85c1-7533593.jpg)  
> All images are from [here](https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/woodland-plants-to-grow/).  
>  [ [return to text](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774397/chapters/53918791#return1) ]


	8. Chapter 8

01

It had been longer than Harry had liked since he’d left Lee’s remains with the taxidermist. It wasn’t that he doubted the man’s professionalism; he’d trusted him with Mr. Pickle after all. What if he hadn’t been able to remove the mounting? What if something had happened to the remains? What if…?

There was no point in worrying about it, and Harry knew that. It didn’t make it any easier to keep from worrying over it. He’d just decided to call the gentleman in question when his mobile rang. The screen told him it was just the man he’d been thinking of.

“Just the man I wanted,” Harry said after they’d exchanged greetings. “May I assume you’ve finished?”

“ _Yes, you’ll forgive the delay I hope. If you stop by, I can show you what the trouble was._ ”

Harry looked at the clock. “Could you give me about twenty minutes?”

“ _Of course, Mr. Hart. I’ll see you then._ ”

Harry ended the call and sent Merlin a message that he was leaving for the day. He had Dave drive him out there and told him that he’d call when he was finished. Harry had no real clue how long this would go. Some humans took the information easily enough, some did not; and in both cases, they usually had seen something or been around someone of interest.

The shop was clean and well lit. There were examples of the man’s craftsmanship around the shop; birds in flight hanging in the corners, a mounted buck’s head on one wall, and even a couple adders. Harry locked the door and turned the sign on his way toward the back.

“Mr. Hart, good to see you again.”

He stood and held out his hand to shake Harry’s own. He was an older gentleman, perhaps ten years Harry’s senior. He was a bit portly and balding. He had Lee’s remains on a table; it was held up by a clear, hard plastic stand. The branch and the pedestal were on the table beside it.

“You as well, Mr. Vaughn.”

He led Harry to the table and motioned for him to sit. He took a seat after Harry.

“I have to say, Mr. Hart: this… may be the best hoax I’ve ever come across. I went over your lizard quite thoroughly and I can’t find where the wings were attacked, the barb, spines. Even the dye job is perfect.”

Harry smiled thinly. “You don’t say.”

“Might even make someone believe in dragons,” he said with a laugh. A laugh that died _quickly_ at the look on Harry’s face. “Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “Needless to say, I appreciate the craftsmanship; whoever made this did _not_ want it coming apart ever.”

“Any reason, outside of artistic pride?”

“You’d think, but… the way the claws were done wasn’t the, ah, nicest of ways. It would have had to be redone by a professional.”

“So someone who wanted to take him off the mounting would have to destroy part of him, if they, for whatever reason, didn’t go to a professional?”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

“Why would he set him up like that…?” Harry asked, more to himself than Vaughn.

“I have to admit, I was curious about that myself,” he said. “The claws are a more delicate feature. If that was moved too much, it would have damaged them. For such a well done hoax-”

“Would you _kindly_ stop referring to him as a ‘hoax’?”

Vaughn stared at Harry for a moment. He and Harry weren’t what one would call ‘friends’, more ‘professional acquaintances’, but he’d never heard the man’s voice so _icy_ before. “Of course, Mr. Hart. I apologize,” he said. “What would you _like_ me to call him?”

“Lee.”

“Alright, Lee it is,” Vaughn nodded slowly. “For being so well done, I was surprised at how the claws had been attached. As I said, that made me curious, especially after I got Lee clear of the branch.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “The branch isn’t just plastic. There’s a hollow, metal tube running through most of it, primarily in the lower portion. I’d thought that perhaps it was simply an extension of the pedestal but, as you can see, it was not.” He pulled the pedestal closer to them. “Do you notice anything?”

Harry looked it over. He could see where the branch had been and the marks around the opening from Vaughn prying it loose. He frowned after a moment and leaned forward a bit. There was a spot where the mark vanished for just a small bit. He reached out and gently ran one well-manicured nail over it. A thin piece of silicone came away and he pulled it up. It had quite neatly hidden two breaks in the cover: one going across beside the branch opening and one running the length of it from the first break.

“It opens,” he whispered. “Oh, you bastard.”

Vaughn’s brow rose. “It opens very simply.”

He slipped a finger partway into the branch opening. Harry heard a quiet _click_ as a button was pressed and the doors popped up just a bit. Harry took a breath, blew it out slowly through his nose, and then pushed the doors open.

“You bastard,” he whispered again.

The inside of the pedestal was mostly solid, but there was a hollowed out portion. It was about as long as a smartphone and half as wide. It was deep red and, although it was opaque, it looked like glass or something similar. Chester had hidden Eggsy’s hoard inside of his father’s mount.

It was clever; clever and cruel. Chester could have set the remains down in front of Eggsy and told him where the box was, and Harry doubted that Eggsy could have done what he would have needed to do in order to get to it. He wouldn’t need physical restraints or more psychological torture. He would only have had to threaten to destroy the one thing Eggsy wouldn’t be able to bring himself to harm, or possibly even to touch.

Harry debated working it out of the pedestal. Would Eggsy know if he touched it? Would someone like himself touching it harm it? Even though he shortly decided that it likely wouldn’t, he couldn’t see Eggsy taking it well if he _did_ touch it. So he just closed the doors.

“I’ll need something to put Lee in to take him home.”

“Sure, I have something ready for him.”

Harry sat back and looked at Vaughn. “As to your payment,” he began.

It was hours before he left the shop, Lee and the pedestal safely packed inside a shipping box.

02

Merlin and Eggsy had gotten home long before he did. He set the box down on the entryway table and took the pedestal out of it before going into the lounge. Merlin was in there, an ocean documentary playing while he worked on something. Harry went over to him and interrupted him long enough for a kiss.

“Is Eggsy up in his room?” he asked as he set the pedestal down on the coffee table.

“Aye, up there tending to the memorial and, I assume, getting himself ready for this.”

Harry nodded and slipped his coat off. “Will it bother you if I put this in the closet on my way up?”

Merlin laughed softly. “Not at all.”

Harry went back into the entryway, put Merlin’s coat away, and took the box with Lee inside upstairs. He knocked lightly on Eggsy’s door and it was only a moment before it was opened.

“May I come in?”

Eggsy looked at the box, took a breath, and nodded. “Yeah, ‘s fine.”

Harry went in and over to the memorial. The grass seeds and some of the flowers had sprouted. Harry sat the box near the portion with the mound.

“Do you want me to do this, Eggsy?”

“No.” It came out a bit harsher than he meant it to. “I can do it,” he said sounding a bit like a small child.

Eggsy went over to the box and took the top off. He reached in and then stopped. It was a moment before he could force himself to move again, and his fingers had barely touched Lee when he jumped back.

“I can’t…”

“It’s alright,” Harry said softly. He took the remains out of the box and went over to where the mound was. “Tell me how to place him and I will.”

Harry listened to Eggsy’s directions and it wasn’t long before Lee was placed, upright and between the fountain and the mound. Harry had been forced to cover Lee’s back claws in order to keep him stable, but once the grass grew in, it wouldn’t matter; no one would know.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Harry said softly. “But if you could come downstairs when you’re ready? I have something for you.”

“Sure, Harry.”

Harry smiled a little at the use of his given name. While he was happy that Eggsy had started to feel more comfortable around him, he was saddened that it only came now, when Eggsy would surely be leaving them. He went back downstairs to sit with Merlin in the lounge and read on his mobile.

It wasn’t too long before Eggsy joined them. He was a little pale looking, but he seemed otherwise fine. His eyes fell on the pedestal and he gave Harry a curious look.

“There’s a button inside the opening,” Harry said as he returned his attention to his mobile. “Open it.”

Eggsy watched Harry for a few moments. He could see that Harry was just staring at his screen and not actually reading anything. Harry was purposely ignoring him, and he frowned curiously as he opened up the top. He saw what was inside and his head snapped up to Harry… who was still rather pointedly ignoring him.

“What’s the catch?” Eggsy asked even while he worked the box out.

“No catch,” Harry said. “I told you I would return it to you when I found it and that I would take care of Lee for you. Unless you’d like to, of course. I am aware that the contents of that box help your elders move on.”

Eggsy’s brow rose slightly but he didn’t ask how Harry knew… Harry, who was still ignoring him. He held the box to his chest and backed away slowly, his eyes fixed on both of the other men. He backed into the doorframe and that seemed to be all he needed. He turned away from them and bolted for the door.

Harry listened as the door opened and then shut again. “At least he’ll be with his family again. I just… would like to have been able to do more for him.”

Merlin chuckled and put a hand on the back of Harry’s neck. “You’re taking care of Lee’s remains and you set Eggsy free. I’m… not certain you could do more for him.”

“I owe him.”

“I think Lee would say you’re square,” Merlin said, pulling Harry against him. “You gave Eggsy _back_ his life and his home. Same way you gave me mine.”

Harry hummed softly, smiling a bit. He shifted so he was leaning against Merlin’s chest, arms around his waist. “So I’m your home then?” he teased.

“You had better be,” Merlin laughed. “If I’m gonna be spending the rest of my life with you.”

Harry’s teasing smile softened. “Is that a proposal I hear?”

“I did already,” Merlin said. “And you said yes.”

Harry frowned a little and sat up from him. “I’m very sorry, but _when_ did that happen? One would think I would remember this.”

Merlin watched him for a moment, trying to decide if Harry was teasing him or not. “Harry,” he said softly. “I gave you my coat; you accepted it.”

“I…” 

Merlin laughed softly. “Why did you think I was giving it to you?”

“I… honestly had assumed it was an intimacy thing. Young men will often give their girlfriends their jacket or what-have-you, both to see her wearing something of his and a sort of ‘she’s taken, get your own’ sort of thing.”

“And that’s… different?”

“Well,” Harry stammered for a moment. “It’s usually a sign that a relationship is more serious, but not… at that point.”

“Good to know,” Merlin said. “So should I go get you a ring? Do the whole one-knee thing?”

“No, I think you should take me upstairs,” Harry said in a falsely prim tone.

Merlin stood up and took both of Harry’s hands in his own. He led his not-quite-human upstairs, leaving Harry’s suit coat and his jumper in their wake. Harry’s tie found itself left by the office door, and his button down _nearly_ made it into the bedroom. 

03

It was the middle of the night when Harry woke him. Merlin did _not_ want to wake up. He wanted to lay there, curled up in the warmth of the blanket and his lover’s arms. But Harry was persistent enough that he was forced up into consciousness.

“Wha’?” he muttered, clinging to the last vestiges of sleep.

“Doorbell,” Harry said; he sounded more asleep than Merlin.

Merlin growled softly and rolled over. “It c’n wait.”

“No,” Harry slurred, turning his face more toward his pillow. “Middle of the night things.”

Merlin growled again.

“I got it last time.”

Merlin sighed and pushed himself up. He kissed the back of Harry’s neck. “Be glad I love you,” Merlin muttered.

He grabbed a robe and pulled it on, tying it somewhat loosely around himself. He went downstairs and heard the bell again. He wondered how many times it had rung before Harry had woken him enough. At least, this time, he could be reasonably certain it wasn’t someone coming to kill Harry.

He opened the door, leaning against the wall with one arm. “Do you have any idea what fucking…”

He trailed off at the sight in front of him. Eggsy was standing there, clutching the box to his chest. He looked lost and a little afraid. Merlin gave him a quick once-over; Eggsy didn’t look hurt. Merlin reached a hand out and put it on his shoulder. Eggsy responded, not by going into the house, but by pressing himself against Merlin and hiding against him.

“Come inside,” Merlin said softly, slipping his arm across Eggsy’s shoulders and leading him into the lounge. He got Eggsy seated on the sofa. “Do you want something to drink?”

Eggsy shook his head against Merlin, one hand clutching onto his robe. Merlin held onto him, letting Eggsy hide as much as he needed. He didn’t think Eggsy had gotten the sort of shock he had at seeing Lee; there was no pink in his hair and his eyes were still green. They were still sitting like that when Harry came down, his robe pulled sensibly shut. He gave Merlin a curious look and Merlin just barely shrugged one shoulder.

“Eggsy?” He kept his voice soft. “Is it alright if I come in? I can go back upstairs if you would feel better.”

He shook his head a little. “You c’n stay,” he mumbled.

“Thank you,” he said softly. He went over to the armchair and took a seat. “May I ask what happened?”

“Don’t wanna talk ‘bout it right now.”

“That’s fine,” Harry said. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Eggsy didn’t say anything for a long while, long enough that Harry thought he wasn’t going to answer. When he finally did, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry. You been… you been playin’ straight with me the whole time and…” He trailed off.

“My dear boy, you have _nothing_ to apologize for. You had plenty of reasons to mistrust me.” Harry offered him a gentle smile. “I _am_ glad, however, that you’ve… realized that. Is that why you came back?”

He shrugged. “Ain’t got nowhere else to go anymore.”

Harry watched him for a moment. Was it that he’d been among humans too long to be accepted back? Had they known somehow that Eggsy had been around one of his kind? Or had there simply been nothing to go back to?

04

It had taken him nearly two hours to get back to his nest. Part of it had been that he’d had to take a lot of breaks; it wasn’t as if he’d had all that many chances to fly in the last twenty years. The rest was the fact that he wasn’t flying straight; he was weaving, going the wrong way at times and doubling back. He didn’t _think_ Harry had someone following him, but what if there was someone _else_ following him?

As he flew closer to his home, something felt _off_ to him. He did a wide circle around the area and then dropped down into a tree. He found a spot in the branches that he could hide the box, and then pulled down some leaves to cover it with. And then he approached his home slowly, going from treetop to treetop. He glided between the trees, always going for the closest one, and then stopped to listen. Just in case.

He was just outside the nest when he froze. He’d heard a male voice, low and soft as if the speaker didn’t want to be overheard. He saw no light, and _that_ unnerved him. He moved around the voice, trying to keep himself from being seen.

“I’m telling you; we-”

“44…?” A female voice.

“I thought… for a moment, I thought I saw one of them.”

“No. They’re not coming back.”

The male was quiet for a moment. “ _They_ are going to realize that someday and recall us.”

“I know,” her voice was nearly a whisper.

“And then we’ll be put on tertiary duty.” There was something pointed in his tone.

“I know.” There was a pause. “What if we-”

“What? Refuse? Tell them we’re not breeding for them?” There was a derisive laugh. “We’ll end up like 37 and 40. Do you want that?”

“No… That wasn’t what I was going to suggest.”

“Oh?”

“The minder has been coming less and less frequently. It’s been… ten days, this time… I think. _They are_ realizing that they’re not coming back.” She was quiet for a moment. “We should run.”

“Run?! And go _where_? _Human_ lands? Do you know… the _first_ thing about acting like one? And if we got caught…”

“Slow public torture leading to execution,” she said. “Just like 37 and 40.”

“Exactly.”

“I won’t do it.”

He sighed. “41…”

“I _won’t_. I don’t know _how_ 37 and 40 got him out but… but… but they were right!”

“Oh, not _this_ again.”

“You can’t tell me you’re alright with this.”

“I’m not. It’s just… better than the alternative.”

They both fell silent and Eggsy considered just fleeing. He’d never really thought about them being just disposable tools to their masters. The way he’d been to King. It was stupid, it was dangerous, but he climbed down the tree and circled around behind them, keeping his body as low to the ground as possible. When he could just make them out, he shifted form. He stayed tense, however, and ready to shift back at the least movement.

“Oi.” He saw them turn and heard a sharp intake of breath from one of them. “One move and I’m gone!”

“You know what we are,” the male said.

“Yeah, an’ you know what I am. I just wanna talk, alright? Look, you bring me back, that ain’t gonna stop you from bein’ put on tertiary duty.” He scoffed. “Fuckin’ thing to call it.”

“So what do you want?” 44 asked.

“I know somewhere you can go, and I’ll tell you… if you tell me what happened here.”

Neither answered him for a few moments. He took a step back, about to bolt, when the male spoke.

“How do we know you’ll tell us anything?”

“I guess you don’t,” Eggsy said. “Guess we’re just gonna have to trust each other.”

He sighed, a touch put out. “A few years ago, _they_ learned about this nest. We were sent, three sets of us. Blues and purples we caught as we could. Younger than that and _they_ didn’t want them. We’ve been stationed here to capture any that return.” He paused and then shrugged. “There’s been four who’ve returned.”

“Nice,” Eggsy said wryly.

“If they’re realized we’d let some go…”

“No, I get it. Don’t mean I’m happy about it.”

“We kept up our end.”

Eggsy crouched, keeping his eyes on them. Neither moved and he wrote a word in the dirt before standing again. “Go that way,” he said pointing back the way he’d come. “Look for vehicle with that word on it. Tell ‘em to bring you to Kingsman, Savile Row, London. They’ll probably bitch about the distance; tell ‘em Kingsman will pay their fee plus twenty percent.”

Even if Kingsman wouldn’t, he’d figure out something. Maybe do more work for Harry or something else at Kingsman. _Something_ , anyway. He shook his head a little, wryly amused that he was willing to do that for a pair of Darkstalkers.

“When you go in, tell ‘em you need to speak with Harry Hart. I’ll… tell him you’re coming.”

“And… that’s somewhere safe?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Harry… well, I think you’ll be able to trust him.”

Eggsy shifted forms and took off before they could change their minds and grab him. He went after his box and took it. It took him considerably less time to get back to Harry’s house. But then he’d sat on the roof of the neighbor’s place for quite some time.

He hadn’t let himself think about it on the way back, and now it was hitting him. They were gone, scattered or dead. He was alone and was probably never gonna see another of his kind again. That hurt; it hurt about as much as knowing his mum could easily have been one of the ones they captured. At least with her, he couldn’t be quite so certain and could, if nothing else, tell himself she was alive and safe somewhere.

05

“I can… you know… start pullin’ my own weight around here,” Eggsy said after some time.

“How so?” Harry asked, his voice mild.

“Well… I can keep house. And I can learn how to cook? Then you can fire the maid and… I dunno… Do you still pay someone if they’re living’ with you?”

“In the first place, I simply can _not_ fire her. She’s worked for me since I moved into this house. To dismiss her now would be nothing short of an insult.”

Eggsy made an amused sound against Merlin; it wasn’t quite a laugh.

“To your question, of course you’ll be paid. I’ll find out what a live-in housekeeper makes and pay you that. The question is: what could you still do around the house…” Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I suppose you could do the few things I’ve never asked her to do: change the bed linens twice a week, see to it the wash goes out on Tuesdays, and put it away when it comes back on Thursdays.”

“And cooking…?”

“That can stay something the three of us take care of, together.”

Eggsy smiled a little. “And that’s… enough?”

“Yes,” Harry said. “Even if it wasn’t, I don’t expect it will be a permanent arrangement.”

The smile vanished. “Why not?”

“There will soon be an opening in Kingsman,” Harry said. “I’d like you to be my proposal.”

Eggsy sat up from Merlin. “So like… I’d go work there?”

Harry nodded. “Exactly, assuming you get in, which, of course, you will.”

“Cos you’re gonna say so…?”

Harry laughed softly. “My boy, if I thought for a moment that you needed someone to pull strings for you to get into Kingsman, I wouldn’t have even considered you.”

“Alright,” Eggsy said with a grin and a shrug.

“For now, however,” Harry said, “It’s late. Why don’t you go up to your room and get some sleep?”

Eggsy nodded and got up to go upstairs. “Harry… there’s gonna be a couple, um, non-humans at Kingsman. Maybe tomorrow, I dunno. I told ‘em to ask for you.”

“I’ll watch for them.”

Eggsy left the lounge and Harry could see the way he was still shielding the box from being seen. He didn’t comment on it; after so long without knowing where it was, he fully expected Eggsy to be overprotective of it for some time. 

Eggsy was very aware of the two men following him upstairs and watching from their bedroom door until he was in his own. He stayed by his door for a moment before turning and looking at the memorial.

“Hi,” he said as he approached it. He knelt and held up the box. “I got it back. The seal’s fading though and… I don’t remember how to do it. I know Harry found out about… about what’s in here, but… I dunno how. Probably from Mr. King’s records. So I dunno how much he _knows_.” He sat back on his heels, just watching the remains. “Do you think it’s safe? To open it here?”

He put it down in front of his dad’s remains, letting him watch over it. He switched forms and hopped up onto the bed, curling up so he could watch his dad. It still felt so _wrong_ , but… it wasn’t as bad as it had been. And… there was something a little comforting about it. It was gonna be awhile before he was every really comfortable with him there but… it still was a little comfort.


	9. Chapter 9

01

Harry had spent the better part of the next two days loitering around the tailor shop. He kept his glasses on and Merlin was able to contact him with anything he needed to see to immediately. It felt… more than just important to him that he be _there_ when the pair Eggsy met came in; primarily because Eggsy had found a pair of non-humans and his thought had been to send them to _him_. He wanted to prove to Eggsy that his trust had not been misplaced.

He knew immediately when the pair came in. It wasn’t just that they looked lost, or the way their eyes kept darting around in search of a threat. Or how uncertainly they approached the tailors. He listened as they talked; as they said that they’d been told to come see him and that someone here would take care of the driver.

He had been in the backroom when they’d come in, and he’d moved to go into the shop proper when he’d heard the bell. But then he’d stopped, because there was something _odd_ about them. There was… almost a shine to them. It wasn’t colorful, it wasn’t bright, and it wasn’t something he’d ever seen before. It wasn’t something Chester had ever even suggested he might see.

The male of the pair watched over his shoulder as one of the tailors went out to take care of the cab fare; the female was still looking around the shop and her eyes fell on the doorway, and on Harry. She hissed a breath and her companion turned around. His eyes widened slightly and he whispered something to her.

Harry came the rest of the way out of the backroom, pulling the door shut behind himself, and approached them. He smiled genially at them and offered his hand. “I’m Harry Hart. I’ve been expecting you.”

They exchanged a glance and the male spoke. “ _You’re_ who he sent us to?”

Harry faltered and lowered his hand. “Yes. Why?”

The pair looked at each other and Harry watched their silent conversation. The male clearly wanted to leave. The female was afraid, and clearly so, but she wasn’t willing to leave. And he… clearly wasn’t willing to leave her.

“I assure you, you’re perfectly safe here,” Harry said.

“How many of _them_ are here?” the woman asked.

Harry shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know who they are.”

The man gave Harry an incredulous look. “ _Them_ ,” he hissed. “That…” He glanced at the tailors and then held his hands apart enough to indicate something small; something cat-sized.

“Eggsy,” Harry said with a nod.

“He heard us talking about _them_. About… wanting to get away.”

Harry could hear the fear in the man’s voice. “Well, did _Eggsy_ know who you meant?”

“Of course,” he said.

“Then I seriously doubt any of them are here.”

“He really doesn’t know what you mean,” the woman whispered.

The man said something that _almost_ sounded Scottish to Harry’s ear. From the look on his face and the rather shocked tone, Harry assumed that he’d cursed. He offered them that same, genial smile again. The goal right now was to keep them calm.

“Why don’t we go somewhere private to talk?”

“Alright,” the woman said before the man could answer.

It was clear enough to Harry that the man wanted to bolt. He wondered if she was the dominant one of the pair. Had it been her idea to run from… whoever ‘they’ were? Or had she decided she was running and he had been too protective of her to let her run?

02

He’d thought about taking them to his office, but he decided against it. They were both so nervous that he thought being underground to go over to headquarters might feel too much like they were trapped. He brought them upstairs to the conference room and locked the door behind them. He made certain they saw; he wanted it to be clear that he was locking it for them and not to trap them.

He took a good look at the pair once they were sitting. They were both older, possibly around his age. Like him, they had very little grey (not that Harry _had_ any grey, no no no; just because it wasn’t noticeable didn’t mean it existed) and most of the signs of age were around their necks, brows, and eyes (not that Harry had crow’s feet or anything such thing; just signs of experience).

“I’m 44; she’s 41. We’re both still on primary duty.”

“Alright,” Harry nodded slowly. “Could you give me your names and perhaps explain what your ‘primary duty’ is?”

“Those _are_ our names,” 41 said. She watched Harry for a moment, deciding how much to say. “There are ten basic… um… I suppose lines of us. They keep us interbred with only our own lines. There used to be more, but there was something wrong with how they were made. I’m the forty-first female of our line. We’re paired as children and pairs are always designed with the highest genetic variability possible. We train for a period of years and then are sent out to hunt. That is our primary duty.”

“I… see. What are the other duties?”

She offered him a very hesitant smile. “Once our reflexes begin to slow, we’re recalled permanently for secondary duty. That is serving within their homes. Once a female…”

“Once she can bear children, the pair are sent to tertiary duty to breed two children to replace them. The males are sent back to secondary duty after, for no more than ten years. After that, we have no use.”

“They take the children. They raise them and train them for obedience. We… well, we have no use after that. They say it’s quick and painless, our reward for a lifetime of obedience.” She lowered her head. “We’d been at our post for several years now. If we’d been recalled, they would have… realized… I’m of age for that.”

Harry stared at them for a few moments. They were slaves, genetically engineered slaves. Ones bred to hunt and fight; bred to not become fertile until they were too old to be efficient fighters. And this pair had been posted close enough to Eggsy’s nest that he’d stopped to listen to them. A laugh bubbled up inside of him, one that was nervous and hysterical.

“You’re… you’re the same as I am, aren’t you?” he asked once he felt that hysterical bubble was under control.

41 nodded. “Yes. You’ve… never seen one of us before, have you?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I… I only recently learned what I was.”

There were so many things Harry wanted to ask; but at the same time he _didn’t_ want to ask. If a quick and painless death was the reward for obedience, he could only imagine what sort of death awaited someone who got one of their state-required children out. He wondered, briefly, if he had a sibling. If he did, they weren’t near enough that Chester had ever brought them in - and he knew Chester _would_ have, even if he only kept that person in the Vault.

“37 and 40,” 41 said quietly, answering one of the questions in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “We can find you a place to stay within Kingsman until you’ve learned how to integrate into human society. I’m sure a lot of it will be quite different from what you’re accustomed to.”

He wondered how long it would be before they _could_ integrate. They were older than he was; they had to be if they’d known who his parents were (unless that had just become the Stuff Of Legends among them). Would they even be able to? If it came down to it, they could always live in Kingsman’s headquarters. 

03

“Son of a _bitch_ ,” was what greeted Harry when he arrived home.

It was quickly followed by a crash.

“Buggerin’ _fuck_!”

“Eggsy?” He went into the dining room. He’d been able to smell the burned… well, whatever Eggsy had been making from the door. “Are you quite alright?”

“Yeah,” he sulked. He was running water on the pan and over his hand. “Just burned us both.”

Harry went into the kitchen and tried to bite back and amused grin. There were splashes of what looked like it had begun life as a sauce that had heat dried already; whatever he’d been cooking was a blackened shape in a hissing, blackened pan; and there were vegetables, cut and waiting on a board, that had been spared their fate.

Harry went over to him and took the hand Eggsy was running under water so he could look at it. He frowned slightly. “Come with me,” he said as he shut the water off.

Eggsy frowned a little but he followed Harry. Despite all of his protesting, he’d started to trust Harry. And then, well… wasn’t the expression ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’? Didn’t mean he wasn’t fuckin’ nervous, but… if he could trust Harry not to kill him, he could trust Harry not to beat him over a fucked pan, right?

Harry led him to the downstairs toilet and pointed to it. Eggsy went over and sat on it, watching Harry somewhat curiously. He did _not_ like being in such a small space with a Darkstalker. But even though everything in him said to run, he forced himself to keep still, to act on that trust. And it was only a moment or two before Harry went over to him.

“You hand,” he said softly.

Eggsy held his injured hand out and let Harry take it. He watched Harry, almost with the same intensity Harry was examining his hand. Harry seemed satisfied with what he was looking at and spread some cream on the burn. Eggsy sighed softly; the cream felt so cold on the burn.

“You might end up with a blister,” Harry said as he bandaged the wound. “Next time, turn the heat down a bit more.”

Harry’s tone was mild; he was offering guidance, not condescension. Even still, Eggsy cheeks flared. Even though making meals had been something the three of them had done, Harry had been the one to do most of the cooking. Anytime he noticed that Eggsy had been watching, he started explaining what he was doing. Eggsy had only tried the cooking end of the meals a couple times, and always with Harry right there to guide him. Figures he’d fuck it up royally the first time he tried on his own.

“Yeah, I… kinda figured that out,” he sulked.

“I thought you might have,” Harry chuckled. “What were you doing?”

“Was tryin’ ta make dinner… Surprise the both of you.” Eggsy shrugged. “Video made it look real easy.”

“That was very thoughtful,” he said. “I’ll ask Merlin to bring home some take-away. Seeing how you seem to want less supervision while cooking… next time, you work on making it and I’ll only check you between steps? Unless you want help, of course.”

Eggsy grinned a little. “Yeah, okay… and,” the grin faded. “You c’n take the pan outta what you pay me. I mean, I’m the one who fucked it like that.”

“My dear boy, I believe we agreed that cooking would be done between the three of us and not part of what I’m paying you for.” Harry gave Eggsy’s hand a gentle pat and then stepped away from him. He went out into the entryway and messaged Merlin.

Eggsy followed him out, watching him a little shyly. Harry wasn’t upset, about the food _or_ the pan. And he’d just… talked to him rather than hurt him. He’d been right; Harry _was_ different from Mr. King… just not in the way he’d thought.

He looked down at the bandage on his hand for a moment. “You got like… gloves or somethin’? So I can clean up the kitchen?”

“You’re hurt, Eggsy. I’ll clean it up.” Harry put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “If you’d like, you may supervise.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment and then grinned brightly. “Alright. I’ll supervise.”

04

It had been a week since Eggsy had moved in more permanently. Well, _he_ was looking at it as a permanent arrangement. To his mind, this was his new nest. He’d been accepted, cared for… he even had a place within the care of the nest. Sure, he was being _paid_ for that care, but that was only until he could try to get into Kingsman.

But he was still nervous in ways about Harry. Yeah, Harry had played straight with him and been what he’d claimed to be, but… well, after his experiences with King and Dean, could anyone blame him for being nervous still? That, alone, was the reason he didn’t go to Harry and Merlin sooner.

It was chilly that night; the first real sign of winter’s approach. The magic on the box had gotten very weak and he knew it couldn’t last more than another few days. He waited until after dinner, until Harry and Merlin had settled in with a drink; Harry was reading through the news on his mobile and Merlin was working on something - although, for all Eggsy knew, Merlin was just heavily and silently invested in a game.

“So, um,” he began. They other two men looked at him and he shifted a little uncomfortably before taking the plunge. “The seal on my box is failing and I… need to take care of it, but I dunno how here.”

“What do you need?” Harry asked. He set his mobile aside, his full attention on Eggsy.

“Well…” Eggsy shrugged. “It’s what the mound is for. And I ain’t got an elder who’s dying who can, you know, go die on it.”

“Is there… a reason other than metaphysics?” Harry asked. “I’m not trying to suggest anything about your beliefs; I simply don’t see how we can replicate that part of it.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment, and then he shook his head. “I don’t know, actually. They told us that the elders become dirt and they feed it.”

“They ‘feed’ it, huh,” Merlin said thoughtfully. “Well, a corpse releases body fluids; waste, blood, the like. Blood is a very good source of nutrients.”

“Didn’t realize you was a vampire,” Eggsy said with a slight grin.

“Aye, that’s me; the vampire selkie,” he said. “I’m head of staff; Kingsman’s headquarters has gardens. Yeh pick up this shit after a while.”

“May I assume your blood isn’t suitable?”

Eggsy shook his head. “I dunno. I was always told it had to be the elders. I don’t know what we did with… younger ones who died.”

“Then I’m sure we can… acquire blood for you,” Harry said. Somehow, this was not the strangest thing he’d ever done while in Kingsman’s employ. “We have several dragonkin on staff. I’m sure one of them will be willing to donate.”

“Is there anything else you’ll need?”

Eggsy shook his head. “Well… I mean, I’ll… need the two of you.”

“Us?” Harry asked, a little surprised to be included.

Eggsy nodded. “It’s… cos it only happens when an elder dies, it’s somethin’ the whole nest gathers for.”

“Of course we’ll join you for it,” Harry said softly. 

05

The next evening, Harry and Merlin came home with a small cooler marked for medical samples. Eggsy opened it and smiled at the unit of blood inside. It had a bunch of identifiers on the label that Eggsy didn’t understand, but he didn’t really need to.

“Medical drew it just before we left,” Harry said.

“I went through personnel records and found the dragonkin who were closer related to dragons. He isn’t an elder by their standards, but he’s in his eighties.”

Eggsy nodded. “I think… that’ll work.”

He picked the blood bag up and held it close. It was as close to an elder’s blood as he was gonna get. Would it be alright that it wasn’t his kind? Was the age more important than the species? There was so much he’d never bothered to learn, cos this part hadn’t mattered to him when he was younger.

“Eggsy?”

He looked up at Harry and nodded. “I’m alright… Just… thinkin’.”

Eggsy nodded toward the stairs and the other two followed him up. He let them into his room and they stood by his bed. The memorial was getting greener and was starting to look more properly like a garden. Leaves had started to sprout from the flower seeds and bulbs. One even had the smallest hint of colour in the center; the first sign of the coming blossom.

He looked over at Harry and offered him the blood bag. “You’re… sorta the eldest…”

Harry nodded and took the bag from him. Lee had - he’d thought - died to save him; now he was playing the role of a dying elder to save Lee. It was appropriate. He went over to the memorial and cut the corner of the bag.

“Where should I…?”

“Near him,” Eggsy said softly.

Harry knelt and started pouring the blood on the mound near Lee. He didn’t want to oversaturate any one spot, but Harry kept it all near him. There were red splashes on the grass sprouts and it made Harry think of the night Lee _hadn’t_ died to save his life. Only that time, it actually _had_ been Lee’s blood.

“Alright?”

He nodded. “I’m fine, Eggsy.”

Harry rose and went over to where Merlin was. They watched as Eggsy shifted to his true form and went over to the box. He ran a claw along the front of it and the magic dissolved. The box was still red but it looked… somehow dimmer. Eggsy hesitated before opening the box. Inside was a single, ruby-colored sphere. It took up a full third of the box. He reached in and gently rolled it; it _seemed_ fine to him. He picked it up and heard Harry sigh softly. Eggsy looked over his shoulder at him curiously.

“That’s an _egg_ ,” he said softly.

Eggsy nodded slowly. He wasn’t sure what the fuck _else_ Harry’d thought it was. He’d have to ask him later, if only to know what those fae thought they were.

“Could I look at it? I won’t touch it, of course.”

Eggsy considered for a moment and then sat back on his hind legs, using his tail to keep himself balanced. He held the delicate sphere up and let Harry come closer to look at it. Harry knelt down beside the memorial. The egg was shiny and _almost_ translucent; and it was _bright_ to him, nearly as bright as Eggsy was.

“Do we… take those, too?”

Eggsy shook his head.

Harry stood back up and went back to Merlin. He had to wonder if they just had no use for the eggs, or if they’d never actually seen one. It would certainly explain what little they seemed to know about the eggs, and why Chester only used it as a way to keep Eggsy in line. It was no wonder Eggsy hadn’t wanted to tell him what it was.

Eggsy shifted the egg to one claw and held it gently against himself. He went over to the mound and sat just before the bloody soil. He set the egg down, his tail carefully wrapping around it to keep it from rolling away. He dug, making a hole just big enough for the egg and set it inside. But he didn’t cover it up; instead he built up the sides of it a ways and then went over to where the ferns had started sprouting. He pulled a few of the leaves off and used them to cover the top. He went over to the fountain after and washed his claws off; the way he held himself and moved his claws reminded Merlin of a rabbit almost. Once finished, he crossed the memorial and hopped over the side. He climbed up his blanket and sat on the end of the bed for a moment, just looking at the memorial, before shifting back to his human form.

“How long until it hatches?” Harry asked.

“Four months,” he shrugged. “If it’s still good.”

“When will you know if it isn’t?”

“I… dunno. I guess when it doesn’t hatch?” He shook his head. “I don’t remember that happening ever. I mean, it has to have at some point, but… if it did while I was there, I just didn’t pay attention.”

“Do you know which it is?” Merlin asked.

Eggsy ducked his head, his cheeks burning. This was shit he _should_ know. “I don’t remember how to tell,” he said softly. “I was just a kid last time. And that was… I dunno… thirty?... years ago. Somethin’ like that.”

Harry put a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed. “You’ve been away from your people for over twenty years. You’re bound to have forgotten things, especially given that you were young when you left them.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment. “What’m I gonna tell it? I _know_ stuff, yeah, but I don’t… know it all. I don’t think I even know _enough_. And we probably ain’t gonna see another of our kind.”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “We’ll do what we can in Kingsman to keep an eye out for your kind, and you’ll teach it what you _can_. That’s all anyone can ask of you.”

Eggsy put a hand over Harry’s and nodded. The kid - assuming it hatched - was gonna have a fucked up upbringing as it was. But… that was better than no upbringing. And without their own kind around, it would _have_ to learn to be around humans. There were so many questions and concerns running through his head; things that he had no way of getting an answer for. They were things, he supposed, that he’d have to figure out as they happened.


End file.
